It's All About Artitude

New Best Friend

2010-04-15T20:02:00.000-04:00

I have two new best friends.................

We were friends for a long time but sadly, I pushed them aside and got what I thought were newer and better friends. They sat quietly biding their time because they knew one day I would need them again. And then the day came. I wasn't getting what I needed from those "new" friends so I returned to my good old friends who have never once let me down. You ask what made me have a change of heart? Well, it was this.....

and this

because it seems that when you put them together they create a rather undesirable result.

So thank you my old new best friends for coming to my rescue because the thought of wearing clothes with red and green crayon marks all over them makes me shudder.

Our winner

2010-04-11T11:14:00.000-04:00

Haley participated in her first sprint triathlon this morning and took first place for her age group. And to think she didn't even want to stay for the awards! It makes getting up at 6:30 on the last day of spring break well worth it.

Easter pictures

2010-04-09T06:45:00.000-04:00

Easter Day was beautiful this year despite the thick layer of pollen that coated every possible outdoor surface. The kids woke up to find that their baskets had been filled with sweets.

Haley and her loot. She is always the child who takes her time looking through the basket and enjoying all of the things that she has gotten.

Harrison and his loot. He is the child who loves sweets, can't you tell? I asked him what was his favorite and he grabbed everything he could hold in his arms.

Holden and his loot. He is the child who counts his things (I think so he'll know if someone takes it) and organizes them into piles and then decides which item will be eaten first.

Here are the kids dressed in their Easter outfits after church.

After lunch at the river with our family, the kids had their traditional egg hunt. The person who found the silver egg got the prize so that's the one all the kids looked for. This year we let each of them have a chance to win. Here is Harrison searching for the silver egg. The cousins take a break from the egg hunt to have their picture taken.

Square Dance

2010-04-08T14:26:00.000-04:00

Holden has been studying pioneer times at school. The class read one of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books which just happened to be my favorite book series when I was growing up. I tried to get Haley to read the books when she was younger but she just never showed much interest in them. So I was thrilled that at least one of my children had read one of the books that I loved so dearly as a child even if it was a class assignment.

As the finale to the unit, the entire 4th grade participated in Prairie Day. The kids dressed in their interpretation of prairie clothing. They had a lot of fun activities such as making butter. For lunch, the entire fourth grade had a huge picnic and then each class did a little bit of square dancing.

Holden's class was short on girls so he ended up being partner's with his friend Cody. The kids all seemed a bit nervous until the music started and they started dancing and having a lot of fun.

Waiting to square dance

Swing Your Partner

The Cutest Pioneer

Holden and his buddy Zion

A visit to the dentist

2010-03-27T17:34:00.000-04:00

Harrison went to the dentist Thursday. It was a visit that I looked forward to about as much as having my eyelashes plucked out one by one. I hate taking my kids to the dentist almost as much as they hate going. I'm not terribly concerned about the slight discomfort they might feel while having some hygentist scrap the layers of plaque off their teeth. No, I am more concerned about the discomfort I feel when the hygentist looks at me and says "I see a bit of decay here on the XX molar" all the while smiling and most likely thinking to herself what a horrible mother I must be.

I wish I had the guts to act shocked and say "I don't believe it. We eat foods low in sugar and I make him brush his teeth after every meal and at night and in the morning and after snacks. And seriously we have stock in dental floss we use so much. I just can't believe that he would have a cavity." But in reality I know exactly why there is decay. It's from all the times he fell asleep without brushing his teeth. It's from the cotton candy and fruit punch he begs for at each baseball game. And the Skittles and Sourpatch Kids he got as a "treat" for being good.

So instead when the comment is made, I sit and silently repeat to myself "I am a good mother" over and over. I mean in the whole scheme of things is a little decay such a horrible thing? And surely it doesn't make me a bad mother. Does it?

Tell me the boy isn't smart...

2010-03-21T20:46:00.000-04:00

Saturday afternoon I promised to take the kids to the Outlet Mall to look for some spring clothes and shoes. As we were getting ready to go, one of Harrison's friends called and invited him to come over and play. Harrison decided that sounded like more fun than shopping but he made me promise to buy him some new shoes even if he wasn't with us.

On the way to the mall, we dropped Harrison off for his playdate. He and the little boy have been friends since the beginning of kindergarten but this was Harrison's first time going to their house. When I left, he was fine and hugged and kissed me three times before I got out the door.

It took us about twenty minutes to get across town to the mall. Right after we had walked into the first store, my phone rang. I picked it up and it was the little boy's mom telling me that Harrison was crying and wanting to come home. I talked to Harrison and tried to get him to stop being upset and stay but he didn't want to hear that. The more I talked, the harder he cried. So I promised him that we would finish up at the store and I would come and get him.

We got about halfway there and I got a text that Harrison was feeling better but at that point it wasn't worth turning around and going home so we went on and picked him up. When I got there he was playing but as soon as he saw me he turned his sad face on. The first thing he asked after I got out of the car was "did you get my shoes?" Seriously?

On the drive home I tried to talk to him about his fear and why he had so much anxiety. Then I explained that it had taken me twenty minutes to drive to the mall and twenty minutes to drive back and that he had "wasted an hour of my time" because I had to turn straight around and come back without getting my shopping done. I asked him if he had anything to say about that, to which he replied "It wasn't an hour, it was just 40 minutes."

Haley

2010-03-10T09:47:00.002-05:00

Haley turned fourteen on Saturday. I am amazed that the time has gone by so fast. It seems like only yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. Somedays I wish I could turn back the hands of time and enjoy all of the little moments more. It makes me sad to think of the little blond haired pigtail wearing princess that she will never be again. But each day I get glimpses of the woman she is becoming. She is a kind, caring, amazing person. She makes me proud to be her mom. Even though she is no longer a little girl, in my heart she will always be my little girl.

That's my story....

2010-02-20T15:56:00.039-05:00

It's almost never a good thing when you get a call from a teacher. The call I got this week was no exception. This time though it wasn't the usual suspect that was acting up in class.

I received a call from Holden's teacher letting me know he had a bad day. According to her, he was cutting up in small group and then again in the class. Of course Holden says it wasn't his fault. Is it ever?

Harrison overheard the conversation I was having with Holden about the incident. Obviously he was relishing in the fact that he wasn't the one getting in trouble so he rushed off to tell his friends that Holden got in trouble at school. Only here is Harrison's version of the story as retold by our neighbor:

Holden was talking and misbehaving in class and his teacher sent him to the principal. Because Holden was afraid of going to the principal, he took off and hid in the school bathroom. When they realized he was missing, half of the teachers had to go out and search for him. Once they found him, he was taken to the principal where he got in a whole lot of trouble. And they had to call me to let me know what had happened.

I guess I should be thankful because based on Harrison's tale, it could have been much worse.

Harrison Woods for President

2010-02-19T15:56:00.000-05:00

For President's Day, Harrison had to draw a picture of himself as President in the year 2050. We all know that as we get older, many changes occur to our physical appearance. Apparently 40 years from now, Harrison will have grown an afro and gotten his ears pierced.

It's good to know that one of these days, the nation will finally be run by someone so unique.

Snow in the South

2010-02-13T14:20:00.000-05:00

The kids finally got their wish when last night around 8:00 it started snowing. They were out playing in it until about 9:30 last night and were back out again this morning before 8. There was just enough snow to build a snowman, take a few sled rides down our tiny little hill and have a snowball fight. By this afternoon, the snow had mostly melted but it sure was fun while it lasted.

Snow tubing

2010-02-03T21:20:00.000-05:00

January turned out to be an extremely busy month. As soon as I felt I had recovered from the Christmas holidays, the kids were out of school again for another "winter break".

We took advantage of the break and went to the mountains with some friends. There were 19 of us (9 adults and 10 kids) in one house for 4 days. Despite the close quarters, we had a nice time.

The funniest thing of the weekend was seeing us all get ready and out of the door to go snow tubing. It reminded me of the Home Alone movie where the family was scrambling around trying to get out of the door. Fortunately for us no one got left behind.

The kids all went snow tubing while the parents sat up on the deck and watched. Holden and Haley had a blast and loved every minute of it. Harrison went down a few times with Haley but everytime he got back to the top he would come over and tell me he didn't want to go again. Mean mom that I am, I made him go enough times that I felt I had gotten my money's worth then I let him sit out for a little while.

Although it hadn't snowed in a weeks time, we were able to find a hill that still had quite a bit of snow on it so that we could sled. The kids were having so much fun that the men had to test their sledding skills out. It was very funny to watch them flying down the hill, hitting the all the bumps and finally skidding (or toppling over) to a stop. The men decided to race down the hill and then convinced the women that we needed to try it. I just knew I was going to break my neck but I survived with only a few bruises to the bottom.

Here are a few pictures of our fun weekend.

No snow

2010-01-08T16:53:00.000-05:00

What would make two young boys tune out the world and stare at the news as if it was the best show they have ever seen? The chance that they might actually miss school because of snow. Yep, for 30 minutes yesterday my two boys stared at the news hoping and hoping that the weather forecast would call for some snow or at least enough ice to delay schools. Sadly, that was not in the forecast and they had to go to school on time today.

I know not to get my hopes up so when they call for snow or ice I just go about my business as if it won't happen. That isn't the case for two young boys with visions of sleeping in, snowball fights and sledding. The slightest mention of snow sends them into a frenzy.

Today, instead of snow we got a light rain and a cold, cloudy morning. We'll have to wait a little longer for the next winter storm to head out way. For now, the boys will put their news watching on the back burner until they hear mention of snow again and then you will find them glued to the screen in hopes of hearing those two words - school's cancelled.

Don't Axe me.....

2010-01-04T16:56:00.000-05:00

Sometime in the last ten years, most likely coinciding with the arrival of children and the tightening of the finances, I started not caring what brand of deoderant I used. Mostly, I buy what's on sale or what I have a coupon for without regard to the brand. The things I want in a deoderant are simple 1) it has to be a solid (I hate the sticky roll-on stuff) 2) it has to smell nice (or at least I have to imagine it smells nice since I can no longer smell) and 3) it has to work. I don't care if it's Secret or Degree just as long as I'm not smelling bad.

Sometime in the past month an odd thing has happened at my house. Holden has started taking interest in personal hygiene. Most specifically the way he smells. Now up until this point, Holden has been a child who had to be reminded to brush his teeth, put on clean underwear and wear deoderant.

Two weeks ago Holden came to me asking for some new deoderant. I offered him several choices from my stash of deoderant but none of them suited. Apparently I am out of the loop when it comes to deoderant choices for boys because no longer will Degree or Dry Idea suffice. It has to be something that smells good. Something that is cool to wear. It has to be Axe.

I am all for good personal hygiene and so I reasoned that if it's Axe that makes him want to wear deoderant than I will buy him some. So on a trip to Walmart, we went to the deoderant aisle to purchase some Axe. I didn't realize the stuff came in so many different scents including a special limited edition. It took him quite sometime to decide on one. He then carried the deoderant around the store with him as if it were his most prized possession. I can remember when he use to do the same thing with Legos or a Matchbox car.

A few days ago, Target had an ad for Axe value packs. If you purchased two value packs of Axe for $5 each, you got a $5 Target gift card back. Well, since I had a coupon for $1 off and I can't pass up a bargain, I figured I would make Holden happy again and buy him so more Axe. So we headed over to Target where Holden proceeded to pick out the Dark Temptation body wash value pack and the Dark Temptation deoderant and body spray value pack.

I didn't realize what a bad, bad mistake I had made until we got home. Holden hurried upstairs with his new purchases. Shortly after a hazy cloud of vapors appeared to fill the house and followed by Holden. Can I just say that even though it was 45 degrees outside, we had to open the sliding glass door to air out the downstairs so that we could all breathe.

So I suppose I could be upset that Holden is showing a bit too much interest in smelling good these days but I'm not sure what's worse that or stinky underarms.

Making a gingerbread house

2010-01-02T21:15:00.000-05:00

My mom always makes a gingerbread house with the kids. I am glad she enjoys doing it because honestly it's something I don't think I would do well with. First off it's a pain to put the whole thing together. You have to have a lot of patience which doesn't happen to be something I have a lot of. Second, it makes a huge mess. And last the kids generally lose interest right at the end and decide that it's okay for someone else to finish up the project (which includes cleaning up the mess).

This year it actually went pretty well and the boys stuck with the decorating until the house was all but done. Most years the boys just put the candy on until they get bored but this year Harrison even tried to decorate the house with the frosting. I think mostly he just wanted to squeeze out a huge blob so he could eat it but at least he acted like he was trying to help.

Here's the work in progress:

And the finished project:

2009-12-14T16:29:00.000-05:00

I resolve every year to take a family picture and design beautiful holiday cards. And every year something happens and time slips up on me. This year was no exception. I did design the card, the picture however was not what I had intended but given the deadline it worked. I even got the cards stamped and mailed today. Finally something I can cross off that list. Now if I could just find those last few presents and get them wrapped....

A case of a mispelled word

2009-12-04T12:07:00.000-05:00

The English language makes it difficult to teach spelling. There doesn't seem to be rhyme or reason in some instances to the way things are spelled. Teaching young children to spell phonetically works often but sometimes it can be tricky. For instance this week Harrison had for and more. How do you explain to a child why one has an e and the other doesn't? He was able to remember the word more has a e because I kept saying more has one more letter than for.

Sometimes spelling can also be confusing because certain letters have a similiar sound if not spoken clearly which was apparently the case when I called out another of Harrison's words - ship. He spelled it S-H-I-T. Haley was in the next room laughing and trying hard not to myself, I said "No spell ship" (making emphasis on the letter p). I didn't want to explain to him what he just spelled because I knew that he might find it funny and repeat it. We went through the whole list again and when we got to ship he once again spelled it with a t but quickly changed to a p.

The test is today and I am hoping that he spells ship correctly. I can only imagine the expression on his teachers face if he inserts a T where the P is suppose to be. She might wonder exactly what Harrison is learning at home.

How we get our turkey

2009-11-23T22:18:00.000-05:00

Let's talk turkey. Today Harrison came home from school with his interpretation of how turkeys get to our Thanksgiving table. Here is his storyboard creation.

Step One: The turkey is running around happy and carefree and loving life not knowing of it's impending doom.

Step Two: The turkey becomes scared and bolts when he figures out that someone has come to catch him.

Step Three: The turkey is unable to escape and meets his fate when he is slaughtered with an axe. Am I wrong to be disturbed by the fact that my 7 year old portrays the slaughter of a turkey so descriptively?

Step Three: The turkey has been baked and prepared for us to eat on Thanksgiving.

Happy Turkey Day.

A new kind of Batmobile

2009-11-19T15:39:00.000-05:00

The other day as I walked past David's car, I noticed something small and brown protruding from the grill.

I guess that gives new meaning to "batmobile".

Never understanding

2009-11-15T21:10:00.000-05:00

Last week someone that I thought a lot of passed away at the age of 48. While our relationship wasn't on a particularly personal level, he was an important part of my life during a very difficult time.

I met him the first time I moved to Charleston when he became my family doctor. From the time I met him, I felt at ease. He treated everyone as a friend and I believe he truly cared about his patients health and well being. I got to know him pretty well over the years and even after having moved away and back again, he knew who I was when we would run into each other somewhere.

Last year, Harrison had the privilege of having this man's wife as his kindergarten teacher. I got to know her and through her got to know her husband even better. If there were matches made in heaven then I truly believe this was one. It was evident that they loved each other and their children.

For days after I heard the news of his passing, I searched my soul for answers as to why such a good man would be taken at such a young age. The harder I searched for an answer the further away from understanding I got. I talked to my dad about it and he suggested that there was no logical reason for these things and that while it was difficult, I should look at the life that he lived while he was here. Some people live more more in a short time than most do in an entire lifetime. And he truly did. So while I don't understand why, I do know that I have faith enough in God to know that he had a plan. I may not understand it now, but one day perhaps after my death, I finally will. And I do know that one day again I will see my friend.

Someone sent this video to me this week and it touched me. I think the words say it all, "I'm going to miss that smile, I'm going to miss you my friend..I'm not cryin for you 'cause I feel so sorry for you, I'm crying for me."

Toby Keith More CMT Music More CMT Music Videos

Keep Out

2009-11-12T20:41:00.000-05:00

Kids deal with things in different ways when facing something challenging. When Holden gets frustrated, he starts making grunting noises and stomping his feet. If he gets really frustrated he might even start flailing around on the floor. Homework tends to be the time when this happens most often. Some weeks we go with no problems and some weeks it occurs on a regular basis. This week hasn't been all that bad except for tonight. He and David were reviewing his spelling words. I had already gone over them last night with him and he knew 75% of them with no problem but for some reason he kept getting them tonight. David kept making him repeat them and the more he repeated them the more frustrated he got.

When I left to go pick Haley up from swim team David was trying to get Holden to spell and Holden was arguing with him. When I got back David was downstairs and Holden was no where to be seen. Apparently Holden had gotten so mad at David that he started screaming and went up stairs and slammed the door and got in bed.

When I went up stairs to see if he was okay and to tell him goodnight, this is what I found taped to his door.

Guess Holden got the last word in after all.

Messy matter

2009-11-05T20:41:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when you tell one of my children to go and clean up the playroom without being specific as to what "clean-up" means.

Which is why I spent 20 minutes this morning looking for the tennis shoe that was located inside the entertainement unit along with the mass of cords. Logical place for it, right? Only I didn't find it until after he had gone to school mad because he had to wear Crocs.

Notice the flip flop? I found it underneath the entertainment unit when I was down on my knees looking under the couch for the tennis shoe. Wonder how long that has been there?

Halloween

2009-11-01T16:32:00.000-05:00

We went last week and picked out our pumpkin from the pumpkin patch at Hibben UMC. We decided that this year we were only going to get one pumpkin because carving three pumpkins takes a tremendous amount of time not to mention the cost. It was much easier for the children to agree on one pumpkin than I thought it would be. The kids let me take a few pictures of them in the pumpkin patch even though Haley was not very happy about it. I told her she would thank me when she was my age and she had nice pictures to look at.

Our busy schedule prevented us from carving the pumpkin until Halloween Day. The kids are now getting old enough to pretty much do everything themselves once the top is cut off the pumpkin. Haley and Holden did most of the work but left a little for Harrison so he would think he had a part in carving.

Our neighbors had a Halloween get together at their house so we all went down for dinner before trick or treating. This year was the first year in a long time that I actually got to go with the kids trick or treating because Haley and her friend handed out candy at our house. We had a group of 9 children (8 boys and 1 girl) who went along with us. It was funny to see how fast they moved from house to house. Harrison and Helena were always in the lead. I think that Harrison was all about getting as much candy as he could and Helena was all about chasing Harrison. The kids had a good time and came home with a huge bag full of candy. If all the kids in the neighborhood got as much candy as our kids did, there will be a lot of busy dentists come this winter.

Here are the boys in their costumes :

Holden as "The Scream" and Harrison as "Ninja Warrior"

NOTE: The nunchucks in Harrison's hand are foam. He did however get in trouble for hitting the other kids BEFORE we even had dinner so they had to be put away.

2009-10-27T16:11:00.000-04:00

Yeah. I thought my blog was deleted and it wasn't. Maybe I will actually keep uo with it now. More updates later.

It's good to know....

2009-10-05T14:37:00.001-04:00

Many times the only correspondence that you receive from teachers is to discuss a problem that your child is having with school work or behavior. It's good to know that sometimes teachers go out of their way to send a nice note to parents just because. I received one of those notes on Friday. It said:

Good Afternoon!

I am Haley's ELA teacher and just wanted to tell you what a joy she is in class. I am enjoying getting to know her and am realizing how smart and polite she is. She is a wonderful role model and you should be so proud of her. I hope my little one grows up to be just like that!

Have a wonderful weekend and don't hesitate to email me should you ever need anything.

Needless to say I was quite impressed that this teacher would take the time to send me an email just to say that and I was certainly proud of my little (or not so much anymore) girl. It's nice to know that she has that effect on others.

52 Weeks/52 Things

2009-09-24T15:45:00.013-04:00

Here's another list of things that evolved as I was doing my Me album. It's a bucket list of sorts. These are things that I haven't done (at least not in some time) that don't cost a ton of money and therefore are attainable. My goal is to do one a week over the next year (thus the 52 weeks/52 things).

In no particular order here they are:

1. Plant some flowers

2. Handwrite a letter to someone

3. Bake cookies

4. Make a digital scrapbook album for my someone special

5. Get a massage

6. Go for a bike ride

7. Book a weekend trip somewhere

8. Get a new hairstyle

9. Walk on the beach

10. Spend a day photographing things I love

11. Spend an afternoon thrift store shopping

12. Make homemade bread
13. Have breakfast in bed

14. Have fondue

15. Take a cooking class

16. Buy someone flowers just because

17. Make homemade ice-cream and have a sundae bar

18. Go to a flea market

19. Have a mother/daughter day

20. Go to the movies with my husband
21. Sew an apron

22. Make cards to hand out at the nursing home

23. Go to a flea market

24. Buy some pretty shoes

25. Have pajama night with popcorn and movies

26. Take a candlelit bath

27. Make chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream for the kids

28. Pick fresh fruit/veggies from a farm

29. Buy flowers for myself

30. Get a facial

31. Take a photography class

32. Learn a new word

33. Volunteer at a non-profit function

34. Restore an old piece of furniture

35. Go to the zoo

36. Frame and hang pictures of the kids on the wall upstairs

37. Dress up and go out to dinner with friends

38. Paint the hallway walls a fun new color

39. Make curtains for Haley

40. Learn a new song on the piano

41. Sleep late

42. Make a purse

43. Organize my closet

44. Make new artwork
45. Cook dinner for friends

46. Jump on the bed with the kids

47. Take the kids hiking

48. Take a walk downtown to explore the city

49. Learn something new

50. Bake a cake for someone

51. Buy a new color of lipstick

52. Read a Classic Novel

A to Z Gratitude List

2009-09-23T14:50:00.003-04:00

I am working on a scrapbook called Me: The Abridged Version. In it, I am chronicling things that are a part of my life in encyclopedia style from A-Z. As I was making my list of things, I started thinking of all the things I am grateful for. Here is my list which only includes one entry per letter even though I surely could have come up with dozens more.

A to Z Gratitude List

A – Air Conditioning

B – Boisterous children

C – Chick-fil-a

D – David

E – Every extraordinary day and waking up to begin each anew.

F – Family (and friends)

G – God and the freedom to practice religion

H – Haley, Holden and Harrison

I – Internet - how did we ever live without it

J – Jeans, my favorite pair that fit just right

K – Kisses from my kids every morning and night

L – Love

M – Magic Eraser (how does it work?)

N – naps

O – Organized space

P – Parents

Q – Quiet Time

R – rainy days

S – sweater weather

T – Target

U – Underwear

V – Vacuum

W – Washer (and Dryer)

X – XTI, Canon (my camera)

Y – Yard sales

Z – Zillons of little things like butterflies, spring rain showers, bright flowers ….. and on and on

2009-09-22T16:55:00.000-04:00

Because it never hurts to be reminded.....

Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round

or listened to the rain slapping the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight

or gazed at the sun fading into the night?

You better slow down, don’t dance too fast,

Time is short, the music won’t last

Do you run through each day on the fly

When you ask ‘how are you?’ do you hear the reply?

When the day is done do you lie in your bed

with the next hundred chores running through your head?

You better slow down, don’t dance too fast

Time is short, the music won’t last

Ever told your child you will do it tomorrow

and in your haste not seen his sorrow?

When you run so fast to get somewhere

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day

It’s like an unopened gift thrown away

Life isn’t a race so take it slower

Hear the music before your song is over…

I just don't understand

2009-08-28T16:52:00.000-04:00

Somewhere between the age of 12 and 13 my daughter started speaking a language that is sometimes hard for me to understand. It's not an actual foreign language although at times it seems so. It's what we adults term teen slang. For example, if she refers to something as "kickin" she doesn't mean something got kicked or that she kicked something but rather that it is something great. Or if she is just hanging out with friends it's chillaxin (you know chilling and relaxing).

It took me awhile to catch on to the meaning of some of her terminology and just when I think I finally understand what she is saying, she goes and changes the words she uses. It keeps a parent on their toes.

The other night we were at the dinner table talking about school. Haley was telling us about her bus ride home and she said "it was really cool". I replied, "They have air conditioning on the bus now?" Haley looks at me, rolls her eyes and says (in that can you get any dumber tone) "No mom, I mean cool like because I am in 8th grade".

So while I might not always understand the language, I do understand the eye roll. That seems to be the one thing that has not changed over the years. I find that I am more and more frequently the recipent of the eye roll. That single gesture is more effective at delivering her message than any spoken word. One roll of the eyes and no other words are needed. It tells me that she is either 1) utterly disgusted at something I said or did or 2) she thinks that I am the most annoying parent on the planet. Over the past couple of years she has perfected the art of eye rolling and sometimes her eyes roll so far back in her head I am afraid they are going to get stuck. I can't ever remembering rolling my eyes at my mother although I am sure that at some point I did. I'll have to remember to ask her, though I am sure I didn't have it as perfected as my daughter does.

First Day of School

2009-08-19T09:38:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of school here. I can't say that the kids were very excited about going back but they were all excited about seeing all the friends that they didn't see over the summer. Although they went to bed early, waking up was hard for them because they had gotten use to sleeping in until 8 or 9.

Instead of riding the bus on the first day, I took them in the car. That gave them a few more minutes to sleep and I could be assured that Harrison found his class without any problems. They posed for these first day pictures as we were leaving the house.

Holden- Fourth Grade

Harrison - First Grade

Haley- Eighth Grade

Harrison let me take a couple of pictures at school.

Harrison walking into school

and in his classroom

Holden however was thoroughly embarrassed that I was trying to take his picture. He wouldn't look at me and smile until his friend Noah jumped in (and even then I am not sure you'd call that a smile but at least I can see his eyes).

Haley agreed to pose for the annual picture on the front porch but that was it. I suggested that when we got to school I could park the car and we could walk over by the school sign and I could take her picture there (and I was only half kidding). She was not okay with that so I guess I will settle for the one at home. At least she is smiling.

Holden still insisted on riding the bus home so I picked Harrison up and we came home and walked down to meet Holden as he got off the bus. Holden said it was a great day made even better because the vice principal that he wasn't fond of had been replaced. Harrison said he loved his teacher and was glad that he had a lot of his kindergarten classmates in his class. Haley said her day was better than she thought it would be (isn't that all we can expect from a teenager) and she was happy about her homeroom/science teacher.

The last day of summer vacation

2009-08-17T16:22:00.006-04:00

I haven't been very good about posting this summer. I would like to say it's because I was so busy entertaining/educating/traveling with my children that I didn't have time. But really the truth of the matter is that it was just put at the bottom of my priority list. When the kids are home during the summer, some things have to slide and this was unfortunately one of them. It's amazing the number of times that you have to pick up during the day when the kids are home. Or the amount of dirty dishes or clothes that they create. Or the number of kids in and out of your house at all hours of the day.

I always have these grandiose plans for the summer. I make lists and plans of things to do and somehow every summer, I find that some time around the third week of summer vacation, my plans just aren't happening. I have good intentions but as my kids get older they become less interested in doing things with me and more interested in doing things with their friends. I suppose their having a lot of friends is a good problem to have although sometimes I long for the days when they really wanted to be with me.

Last week I began to feel a bit panicky that I hadn't really done much with the kids all summer so I tried to cram in some of the things I had intended to do all summer. We had an evening picnic on the beach, had dinner on the pier and went fishing afterwards, went to the Pitt Street Pharmacy and had chocolate shakes, went on a bike ride, and played some games and finished our summer reading.

Today marks the end of summer vacation even though it seems like school just got out. There will be no more late dinners, no more staying up to watch movies, no more hanging out at the pool, and no more sleeping in until next summer. And that makes me sad. It's time again for homework, packing lunches, and early bedtimes. And that makes me even sadder. Who would have thought?

Invisible

2009-08-04T09:44:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I feel that no one in my family even notices the things I do. They take for granted the fact that their clothes will be clean when they need them. That there will be food in the pantry and milk in the fridge. They have no clue that the toilets must be cleaned at least once a week and the floors must be swept daily. They have no idea that bills must be paid on time so that they have electricity to power the television that never seems to get turned off. And of course all those shoes, toys and miscellaneous what-nots that are left under the couch or in the middle of the floor somehow mysteriously put themselves back in their rightful place at the end of the day.

And then there are the times when I walk into the room and ask one of the kids to do something and if they even acknowledge my presence, they stare at me as if I am speaking a foreign language. It makes me want to bang my head against the wall.

I came across this video recently from Nicole Johnson who has a great message for those of us who feel invisible.

Now I have a new perspective. I realized that everything I do no matter how small or insignificant is noticed by the one who really matters - God.

Money matters

2009-07-27T12:13:00.007-04:00

I have always tried to teach my children that they should save their money for important things rather than buying something every time they get a few dollars. When they were young, the concept of savings was foreign. They were into instant gratification so until they were school age, I always took most of the money they received as gifts and deposited it in their account and gave them a little to spend. They were still allowed to do as they wanted with their allowance. As they got older, I wanted them to learn the aspects of money management so I began letting them make some choices about how their money was spent with some guidance from me.

Harrison is still a bit young and savings to him means not spending his allowance for two weeks straight. Haley has been saving her money to buy larger items for some time now. This summer she put over half of her babysitting money in savings for a trip next summer. It's exciting for her to see how it all adds up. We have even talked about buying a CD. She likes the fact that she can make money with her money.

Holden never gave a whole lot of thought to saving money until this summer. In fact, saving money has become a fixation. When asked to help move the dining table chairs to the den so that I could mop, he asked if that was included in his allowance or if it was extra. If I mention in passing that I can't believe how dirty my car is, he wants to know how much I will pay him to wash it. He schemes on how to make money. He has had lemonade stands, sold shaved ice, and cleaned out the garage and sold some of his unused sports equipment. He even digs through trash that other people put out by the road to see if there is anything of value. It's actually pretty amazing at the things he finds.

His most recent scheme involves a lawn business. There is only one problem - he needs a lawnmower. Last month he told his grandmother that for his birthday (in September) he wants a lawn mower. In the meantime, his dad has offered the use of our push mower. But apparently Holden has grand visions of his lawn business because he is now searching for a used riding lawn mower. I came home recently and Holden excitedly announced that he had found a mower on Ebay for only $26 and it included free shipping. Here's his diamond in the rough.

Its a 1970 Montgomery Ward riding lawn mower with a 5 HP Briggs and Stratton motor. The seller says that the body and deck only have surface rust with no holes. The mower apparently runs because the seller "rode it around in the yard about a month ago" but is says that it is "NOT yard ready" and "needs some work" (you think?).

I hated to burst his bubble but the seller was located in NC and the free shipping involved a local delivery. Not to mention the fact that the mower is almost as old as I am and doesn't even mow. I let him down easy and I thought that might be the end of that quest. I underestimated him because not thirty minutes later I found him scouring the classifieds in search of another diamond in the rough. I'll have to hand it to him, once he gets his mind on something he doesn't give up.

Take me out to the ballgame

2009-07-22T11:34:00.000-04:00

No summer would be complete without baseball, hot dogs and Spongebob. Last night, we took the kids to see the Charleston Riverdogs play. Harrison was excited because Spongebob was going to make an appearance. After we got settled into our seats, Harrison and I headed over to the tent area to see if we could see Spongebob. When I saw the line I had flashbacks of standing in line to see Mickey Mouse at Disney. Apparently Spongebob needs frequent breaks (maybe he dries up out of water?) so he would come out for 20 minutes and then go back in for 20 minutes. Forty five minutes after we got in line, we got our 5 second encounter with Spongebob.

We headed back to our seats just after the game started to find Haley and Holden munching on boiled peanuts and a giant bag of cotton candy waiting on Harrison. After Spongebob, cotton candy was the reason he wanted to go to the game.

After a few innings, the food was running low so Haley headed off to get a funnel cake and an order of nachos for us to share. The boys still wanted something else after the nachos. Maybe because the game was slow or maybe because they think you should get all the junk food you never get at home. David bought them both a bowl of dippin dots.

The Riverdogs scored 5 runs in the sixth inning but the most excitement was not on the field but rather in the stands. A bat broke after a player hit the ball and flew through the air and landed in the stadium not far from where we were sitting. Fortunately it grazed a man with the unbroken end. There was a little girl standing not 2 feet from where it landed.

After that, the kids pretty much lost interest in the game so we packed up and headed home. As we were leaving, Harrison complained of a stomachache. Wonder why?

Icky things

2009-07-21T19:46:00.007-04:00

Before I had little boys, I didn't realize just how attracted they are to all things that crawl, hop, squirm and slither. It must be something in that male chromosome that makes them want to pick up every bug or frog that they see. The first time they brought a frog in the house I started screaming and pointing at the door and making some unintelligible grunting sound but they got the message and quickly retreated back outdoors. Trust me it was much safer for them and for the poor unsuspecting frog that they had found. When the shock of the unwelcome visitor wore off, I realized much to my horror that they had been TOUCHING a frog with all it's slimy frog germs. I made a beeline for the door with the hand sanitizer.

As the boys grew and the shock of their attraction to icky things wore off, I relaxed a little. Now don't get me wrong, I still don't like any slimy, squirmy, crawling things in my house but I no longer scream when I see one. Nor do I run after them with the hand sanitizer after I see them holding one.

I finally came to realize that the allure of all crawling, hopping, squirming, slithering things is just as strong as the allure of a mud puddle. If they see a frog, chances are they are going to try to catch it and chances are if they see a mud puddle, they are going to tromp through it. Seeking adventures in nature is just a normal part of being a little boy. If I scream and fuss then I am discouraging them from following their natural curiosity. It's better if I encourage them and share as they explore their world even if sometimes it is a little muddy or slimy.

Harrison's most recent catch.

After a couple of hours in the bucket I began to feel sorry for the poor little guy and I encouraged Harrison to release him so that he could go home and have dinner with his parents. And then I sent him in to wash his hands.

The Titanic

2009-07-11T17:16:00.001-04:00

Harrison wanted to go out fishing in the john boat with his dad. This trip, Harrison didn't want to fish, he just wanted to go along for the ride.

David paddled out into the middle of the river and cast his line. They sat and waited and waited and waited some more. As they were sitting there talking, David noticed that Harrison kept staring at the floor of the boat.

As they had been sitting there, some water had leaked into the bottom of the boat from a small hole. Harrison found the leak and put his finger over it. He looked up to see David watching him and said "Quick Dad, let's go back to the dock. This boat is sinking like the Titanic."

Fishing

2009-07-10T16:30:00.010-04:00

We spent 5 days down at my Uncle's house on the river. The weather was beautiful with only a few showers. The television wasn't working which turned out to be a good thing. We spent quality family time together fishing, kayaking, playing games and just hanging out.

David got my Uncle's little john boat and took the boys out fishing. Harrison was the only one who caught anything and he was fishing with a Snoopy rod. After he reeled in his catch, which was a small shark, he decided that he had enough and was ready to call it quits. The total amount of time they were out in the boat was less than the time it took them to get ready and get out there.

The kids also fished off the dock. Unfortunately the only things they caught were a few crabs, one small fish and several baby sand sharks. Haley caught this fish on the second day we were there.

Since her dad wasn't around (he was sleeping on the bed swing on the porch although he'll deny it if asked) it was up to us to get the fish off the line. Kasey was the brave one who volunteered to get the hook out of it's mouth. Every time the fish flipped, Kasey would scream. I was laughing so hard, I would have been no help anyway. Fortunately we were able to get him back in the water before he died but I am sure he was traumatized.

Harrison never did catch anything else most likely because his rod was out of the water as much as it was in. But, he did have a good time sitting on the dock and trying to catch something.

David spent a few hours trying to catch some fish and he was reward for his diligence with a "big" catch. I made sure that I documented his encounter with Jaws before he was returned to the depths of the ocean.

Holden never did catch anything but it wasn't from lack of trying. He spent a good bit of time sitting on the dock waiting on those fish to bite.

Caught red handed

2009-07-03T09:49:00.009-04:00

Late afternoon yesterday I left the house with Harrison to go and pick up my weekly produce box and stop by the grocery store for a couple of things. We were gone about an hour and when I pulled into the driveway, I noticed the garage was closed which is unusual since the boys are constantly in and out with their bikes. I had no sooner opened the garage door and pulled in when both Haley and Holden ran out to the car. Before I could even get one foot out of the door, they both exploded into an animated story about what had happened while I was gone. I was able to decipher bits and pieces of the story from them but didn't get the whole rundown until I came inside and talked to David.

Apparently shortly after I left, Haley was upstairs talking to David in his office which overlooks our side yard. She was standing in the window and looked down to see a strange boy walking between our house and the neighbors. She told David and I guess his private investigator genes kicked in because he immediately ran outside to see the boy walking quickly down the street. David followed him and kept shouting "Hey" but the boy ignored him and kept walking. When David caught up with him, he asked the boy what he was doing in our yard to which the boy replied "cooling off". The boy had a beer in his hand so David asked him where he got it and the boy said at his house. When David asked him where he lived, the boy motioned to the other side of the neighborhood and told him over there. The frost on the can was a clear indicator that the beer hadn't been out in the heat for long so David asked the boy to take him to his house so he could see if indeed the beer had come from there. At this point the boy doubled over. David's first thought was that he was panicking and getting sick but a second later two more beers fell out of his pants and he had apparently tried to stop them from falling out. The beers were the same kind that we have in our garage refrigerator. At this point, the boy started running and David grabbed him around the neck in the choke hold and made him go back to our house. The kid was as tall as David and almost as big so I am sure it was pure adrenaline carrying David at this point.

During the walk back, the boy begged him not to call the police saying he was sixteen and had never been in trouble with the law before. He promised to mow our lawn for a year for free if David didn't call. His begging didn't work and David called the police with the cellphone he takes everywhere apparently including those occasions when he chases criminals down the street.

Once they got back to the house, David held him on our front porch while waiting for the police to come. David told him he was a stupid thief to steal during the middle of the day and to try to get away from a runner. The boy kept saying not to yell at him and David told him the least of his problems was going to be getting yelled at.

Meanwhile the kids (and a friend) were inside peeking out through the window watching this unfold. Within minutes, three police cars came barreling down the street with sirens on. They jumped out of the car with their hands on their guns kind of like in one of those police shows.

Long story but the boy did get arrested and it turns out that he was not sixteen but eighteen and had been arrested before for breaking and entering when he was seventeen and was participating in an intervention program. He had enlisted with the Marines not long ago and was suppose to report for boot camp as soon as he finished the program. Unfortunately for him, two beers cost him the possibility of a good military career.

The police said that the boy would be charged with burglary and that David would have to appear in court. If given the opportunity to speak, David will let the court know that it wasn't the fact that he stole the the beer as much as it was that this kid came into our garage and if one of our kids had come out of the house at that time it would have scared them or worse.

As the police were leaving a couple of the neighbors came by and said they had seen the boy walking around and one had even chased the boy before when he caught him trying to get into his car.

I suppose it was a good thing that I wasn't here because I would probably have asked David to let him go or take him to his parents. It isn't that I am such a bad judge of character as much as it is that I am a mom and my thought would have been that it was someones son sitting out there blubbering and scared to death. My mommy instinct would have been to let his parents deal with him.

In the end, I think David did the right thing by calling the police. This kid apparently had not learned his lesson after the first arrest. Maybe now that he is charged with burglary and faces jail, he will get his act together. Maybe he still stands a chance to be a productive member of society rather than a lifelong burden on taxpayers. Maybe two beers will have helped him turn his life around.

No I didn't drop off the face of the Earth.....

2009-06-27T20:30:00.003-04:00

Summertime is such a crazy time for me. While I love having my children at home with me, I don't feel like I stop from the time my feet hit the ground in the morning to the time I crawl into bed at night. If I am not making something to eat for one of the kids, I am cleaning up after them. If we aren't gone somewhere there are usually 5 or more children at my house.

Not that I should complain because I know this time goes by way to fast. Had someone told me when my kids were young that I would want those days back I might have laughed at them. But oh sometimes I long for the days when they were young and took naps and went to bed at a decent hour and didn't need to be driven to 15 activities a week and didn't feel the constant need to be entertained 24 hours a day. Yeah, yeah, I know in five years I am going to be complaining because they never stay home and no one tells me where they are going and the house is way to quiet and I can't remember the last time we all sat down for a meal.

So I am trying my best not to wish these days away even when I have made three pitchers of lemonade by noon, tripped over six pairs of shoes, mopped unidentified sticky stuff off the floor twice, turned off the television that was left on a dozen times, refereed ten fights over whose turn it is to play the Playstation, closed the back door that was left open and let flies in the house, listened to "I'm bored and there's nothing to do" repeated like a broken record, cleaned up a sink full of dirty dishes that no one claims and found a thousand airsoft beads in my washer that came out of someone's pocket which of course I missed when sorting the twelve piles of laundry that have accumulated in less than three days because I know, one day I will miss this.

CSA

2009-06-10T16:46:00.006-04:00

I joined a local CSA group this past spring after reading an article in the paper about a farm who offered "shares" of their farm to local consumers. Typically the share consists of a box of fruits and vegetables, but sometimes dependent on the farm, other products (such as eggs, dairy or even fresh cut flowers) may be included. The farm that I purchased a share of delivers my box of produce once a week to a central location during set hours so that I can go and pick it up. The spring season started during the second week of April and runs through mid-July depending on the crops. I purchased a medium share for $250 and each weekly share provides enough for my family of five.

This type of program is advantageous to the farmer because they get the cash up front for the crops they are going to grow and it is great marketing through word of mouth. As for the consumer, in this case my family, we get exposed to a large variety of fresh organic produce some of which we might never have eaten had it not been in our CSA share. The only real risk is if the crops fail which may happen due to heavy rains or drought. Fortunately most farmers plant a large variety of produce so that not all crops are affected.

During the first few weeks I admit that I was a little worried that I might have made a mistake because the a good portion of the produce in my box was not something my family was very happy about eating. Things like beets, collards, arugula, kale, mustard greens and mesculan mix. Unfortunately a lot of the produce from the first couple of weeks went into the trash. I did find that my family would eat arugula pesto and I made several batches of that for the freezer. I also cooked and pureed the beets to use in some future recipes from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook. As for the greens, I knew it was a waste of my time to even put them on the table.

After those first weeks the produce became more familiar and we found our box packed with things like squash, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, beans, potatoes, radishes, beets, turnips, carrots, tomatoes, strawberries and herbs. As the season progresses, we find that our box is overflowing each week.

I have had to be very creative in finding ways to introduce my family to some of these vegetables. For instance, mixing turnips in mashed potatoes and cauliflower in macaroni and cheese (another Deceptively Delicious recipe). One week I cooked and pureed beets, cauliflower, and broccoli to freeze for future use. We have tried the veggies roasted and steamed and in casseroles. It's been a learning experience for all of us but I am positive that I will join again in the Fall.

Never say never

2009-06-09T11:19:00.000-04:00

NEVER. It's a word that most people say on a regular basis but one that holds different meaning when you use it in reference to your children.

Before I was a mom, I told myself that I was going to be a model parent and my children would of course be little angels and others would look at them longingly and wish their children were more like mine.

I remember before becoming a mom, the sight of a child screaming at the top of his lungs or misbehaving would have me shaking my head and thinking to myself that my child would never dare to act like that and make me look like the worst mother ever. And then I had one of my own little angels who brought me back to reality and made me eat my words.

Never say Never.

Then when my first child was little, I said I will never let her sit and watch television for hours because it turns children's brains to mush and causes all kinds of problems. And then I had the second child and he cried non-stop for the first six months of his life and the only time I got to rest was when the fussy child was napping and the other child was parked in front of the television.

Never say Never.

When my kids were little, I said never would I let them have sugary junk food because I didn't want them to have things that were bad for them. And then they got older and it got harder to find the time to consistently make healthy snacks and I found myself throwing a box of fruit chews or bags of cookies in the cart the whole time rationalizing that a "little bit" wouldn't hurt them.

Never say Never.

As my kids got older, they wanted a game system and I said never because I didn't want them to become zombies sitting in front of it for hours on end. And then I caved because they used their own money and it was much easier than listening to them whine about what a mean mother I was because "everyone else had one".

Never say Never.

Over the years it seems that I would learn never to say "never" but the truth of the matter is that being a parent is hard work. It's unpredictable at best and sometimes those things that seemed so important become less important in the grand scheme of things. These days when I start to say never, I stop myself because all those things I said would never happen did and things have actually turned out okay. I had to break my own “rules” for parenting because I needed to as a means of survival. I understand now that no one is the perfect parent and we all have to learn along the way. Sometimes you just make do in order to get through it. But if you find yourself saying never, stop because you may find that your nevers become reality.

Have you seen this website

2009-06-01T14:13:00.002-04:00

I am addicted to scouring the Internet for useful sites (shh, don't tell my husband as he already thinks I spend way too much time in front of the computer). My favorite search topics these days are shabby chic decorating, going green, saving money and cooking (not in that particular order).

One of the sites that I love is Once a Month Mom. This site provides links to money saving coupons, cooking tips, and recipes for making your own baby food (which thank you God I do not need). But to me the best thing about Once a Month Mom is that at the beginning of every month they provide you with all of the information and resources for doing a once a month cooking day for your family. They provide you with a printable grocery list and step by step instructions on how to quickly and efficiently prepare the dishes. They also have a link so that you can print out labels for each of the dishes that you prepare.

The menus are kid friendly (unless of course you have picky eaters like I do then you might have to make a few adjustments) and no special culinary skills are required to prepare. Some of the dinner entrees on Junes menu are Tater-Tot Casserole, Barbeque Meatloaf, and Layered Chicken Enchilada Casserole. You don't have to prepare all of the menu items, you can pick and choose what you like and still end up with a large portion of meals for the month. After several months, you should have enough to feed your family straight from the freezer for an entire month.

If you think you might like to try this but still have some questions, you might find the answer here.

Naptime

2009-05-26T17:00:00.001-04:00

One thing I have never understood about kids is their resistance to taking a nap. I can always tell when my kids need a nap because they are unusually grouchy and no fun to be around. Harrison was having one of those days on Sunday. He complained about everything. Everybody was picking on him. Nothing suited. I finally told him that I would like him to go find something to do by himself until he felt better.

I hadn't heard from Harrison in some time so I figured he was following my suggestion to do something by himself. When I walked into the den I found out why he was being so quiet.

As I was taking the picture, Sullivan had to get in on the action.

Harrison was a much happier little boy when he woke up. Sometimes all it takes is a nap.

Baseball: The American Pasttime

2009-05-25T21:15:00.004-04:00

Friday night David was a brave soul and took our three kids plus a friend to see the Charleston Riverdogs play. The kids had a great time as you can see.

Haley and her friend Kasey

David sent Haley and her friend Kasey with Harrison to get his

face painted and he returned looking like this.

Holden doesn't like to have his picture taken.

Riverdogs player

The field at twilight.

All pictures taken by Haley.

It's a Bugs Life

2009-05-19T16:06:00.002-04:00

Once upon a time there was a little boy who was a lover of creatures both big and small. One day this little boy brought home a pet from school. This was not your typical pet. It wasn't furry or cuddly. It didn't run and greet you at the door or chase a ball or fetch a newspaper or curl up in your lap. It wasn't something you would even call cute unless you were an entomologist.

The boy's mother, who was afraid not a lover of such small creatures, was adamant that this new pet would not live in the house. After much whining pleading, the mother caved so she wouldn't have to hear it anymore relented and let the boy keep it in his room as long as he promised not to let it run loose. The boy was happy. The mother was skeptical.

So the boy brought his pet to his room and made it comfortable, furnishing it's new condo with the finest things. Dirt rich in nutrients, decaying wood and water.

Although this pet had a nice home and a boy to call his own, he did not have a name. So the boy thought and thought and decided that his pet would be called Skittles.

Meet Skittles.

Skittles and the boy would play together every day.

Skittles was happy. He had his very own boy and all the wood he could munch on wood and lots of dirt to burrow in. But the boy thought Skittles looked lonely so he went off in the woods and found him a friend.

Meet Chocolate.

The boy told his mother that Skittles had a girlfriend. The mother who should have known to leave it alone asked the boy how he knew it was a girl. The boy admitted that he had discovered Skittles on top of Chocolate and therefore it must be a girl. The mother just smiled and walked away because she wasn't going to open that can of worms.

Skittles and Chocolate were living large in their bug condo enjoying each other's company, eating wood and burrowing in the dirt until one day Skittles (or maybe it was Chocolate, who can tell) made an escape. Apparently he was not so happy being confined to his bug condo and wanted to see the rest of the world. So he somehow lifted the top of the bug condo off, crawled down the shelf and headed off to see unchartered territory or perhaps more likely, is that the boys six year old brother just forgot to put Skittles away after playing with him. Either way, Skittles set off down the hall headed straight toward the mother's room. Luckily the father came upstairs at just about the time Skittles was crossing over into forbidden terrain.

The mother was horrified mildly upset about this turn of events. Her imagination played through several scenarios including the bug getting out and crawling on her in the middle of the night. Although this might seem unreasonable not likely to happen, the mother could not get it out of her mind.

So the day came that Skittles and Chocolate left their home for adventures unknown. The boy was sad to say goodbye but he understood that they were bugs and would survive. The mother, who was still afraid not a lover of such small creatures, was relieved.

On The Battery

2009-05-15T06:43:00.000-04:00

One afternoon a couple of weeks ago, David and I got Harrison out of school early and took him downtown. We ate lunch at a little diner on King Street and then headed to The Battery Park to walk around. It was a beautiful Spring day.

The boats were out sailing in the harbor.

The sun was shining as we walked among the oaks in the park.

Harrison climbed on the cannons that were once used in the Civil War.

And mom enjoyed spending time with Harrison

And so did dad.

Turns out I am right after all

2009-05-14T14:09:00.003-04:00

I have been telling my kids for years that I am a cool mom. Trying to convince them of that has not been easy but today I have re-enforcement. I took the quiz over at Juice Box Jungle and since we all know that everything you read on the web is accurate and true, you can rest assured that I am a 100% Type A Cool Cat Mom.

Here's what they have to say about me:

You are a complex Mama! You are organized, never run out of milk, and you book birthday parties 3 months ahead. But, you're able to let go: you're not an anal foodie, and you're not a strict disciplinarian. You do your best to get the kids a healthy meal but if pizza pops up three nights in a row, so be it. And if the Lion is the King of the Jungle, then you - Cool Cat that you are - must be Queen. As queens tend to be, you are more suited to expert supervision than down and dirty tussling with the cubs. You know how to involve them in important activities of course, but Mama's got to have her space! But watch out! With your laissez-faire discipline and hands-off play style your kids may think you are less interested in being a part of their play than you actually are. Or not. :)

Want to take the test yourself?

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:03:00.003-04:00

Thank you God for making me a mother. Thank you for blessing me with a six year old who is 110% boy but still cuddles with me and rubs my hand and loves to be with me. And thank you for the not so little nine year old boy with dimples who still holds my hand in public and gives me sloppy, wet kisses. And thank you for the teenage girl who doesn't think I am uncool (yet) and who makes a point of kissing me every morning and every night.

But also God, thank you for giving me a mother who has taught me so much and always loved me unconditionally and who has always supported me and believed in me.

I am truly blessed.

Time warped

2009-05-06T16:45:00.007-04:00

It's funny how a child's sense of time is so different from reality. Monday night we were waiting for David to get home so we could go run an errand. Holden said he needed to run down the street for 2 minutes and he would be right back. I told him to hurry because his dad was turning into the neighborhood and as soon as he changed we were leaving.

David got home and changed and still no sign of Holden or Harrison. We waited a few minutes then my patient husband said we needed to ride around the neighborhood to find them. After several trips around the block, we spotted then walking down the street. The first thing we noticed was that Harrison had something on his head and it apparently kept falling over his eyes because he would stop every few feet to push it up. As we got closer, this is what we saw:

We knew they needed to be disciplined but it was hard to have a straight face when we had to look at him. I guess being cute does sometimes pay-off.

Another piece of useful information

2009-05-05T16:18:00.004-04:00

When you think of May, you might think of Spring, Mother's Day, May Day or even Cinco De Mayo. But did you also know that May is National Vinegar Month? You didn't? Well where have you been? Okay, I must admit I had no clue that vinegar was even celebrated let alone given an entire month of recognition. But now thanks to Keeping the Kingdom First I am.

Vinegar is apparently quite versatile. When I googled Uses for Vinegar I came up with hundreds of websites containing useful tips.

Here are a few that I found most interesting and useful:

Freshen wilted vegetables by soaking them in cold water containing a spoonful or two of white distilled vinegar.
Freshen cut flowers. Add 2 tablespoons vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar for each quart of water.
Kill weeds and grass growing in unwanted places by pouring full-strength white distilled vinegar on them. This works especially well in crevices and cracks of walkways and driveways.
Make your own scouring cleanser by combining 1/4 cup baking soda with 1 tablespoon liquid detergent. Add just enough white distilled vinegar to give it a thick but creamy texture.
Deodorize the garbage disposal by pouring in 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup hot white distilled vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes then run hot water down the disposal.
For an economical and environmentally friendly floor cleaner, mix a solution of 3 drops dishwashing liquid to 1/3 part white distilled vinegar, 1/3 part alcohol, and 1/3 part water. Spray sparingly and mop for a fast clean-up.
Get stained white socks and dingy dishcloths white again. Add 1 cup white distilled vinegar to a large pot of water, bring it to a rolling boil and drop in the articles. Let soak overnight.
Forgot that you left wet laundry in the machine and it now smells moldy? Pour a few cups of white distilled vinegar in the machine and wash the clothes in hot water. Then run a normal cycle with detergent.
Make nail polish last longer. Wipe fingernails with cotton balls dipped in white distilled vinegar before putting on nail polish.
Relieve sunburn by lightly rubbing it with vinegar.
Relieve itching by using a cotton ball to dab mosquito and other bug bites with vinegar straight from the bottle.
Loosen chewing gum stuck to carpeting or upholstery by soaking it in white distilled vinegar.
Keep dogs from scratching ears. Clean the inside of the ears with a soft cloth dipped in diluted vinegar.
Deter ants. Spray vinegar around door and window frames, under appliances, and along other known ant trails.

So next time you are in Walmart, grab that industrial size bottle of vinegar. You won't be sorry!

What do you mean only 23 days?

2009-05-04T20:28:00.004-04:00

I was at the school today and overheard a teacher remark (rather cheerfully) that they only had 23 more days of school. I got a panicky feeling in the pit of my stomach. I guess I knew it was coming but YIKES only 23 days?

I know the kids will be happy when school is out. I can remember the feeling of those first days of summer. It seemed that the days stretched before me with endless possibilities. I could sleep late, hang out with my friends all day, swim in the pool, ride my bike or just lay around and read.

As a mom, the thought of summer vacation brings mixed emotions. Yes, I am glad that we can sleep late and spend more time together. I am also glad that I have a break from homework and packing bookbags, lunches and snacks every night. I like not having a set schedule.

So why do I dread summer? It's because I know my house will stay a mess no matter how many times I fuss about keeping stuff picked up. I also know that by the second week, the kids will be bored if no one is home to play with (even though they have each other). And somewhere around late-June it will be so hot outside, that even the kids will want to play indoors (along with five friends). I also know that I will no longer have any "me" time since they will be staying up later. And perhaps the biggest thing is that they will start bickering with each other over every little thing because they will be spending a lot of time together.

Every year I go through this. And every year I tell myself I am going to plan things for us to do so that we aren't always at home and they won't be bored and my house will stay clean. And every year it sneaks up on me. But this year, I am determined to have a list by the end of school. It's a must to preserve my sanity.

So here's a start:

1. Do puzzles

2. Go to the matinee

3. play board games

4. go on a picture scavenger hunt

5. ride bikes

6. make homemade ice cream

7. go to the Farmer's market

8. cook together

9. go to the Nature Center

10. visit a farm

11. go to Bee City

12. play tourist downtown

13. visit the museum

14. play in the fountain downtown

15. go to the beach

16. go on a picnic

17. make a craft together

18. go to the library

19. read books together

20. star gaze on the beach

21. go on a picnic

22. play mini golf

23. play in the sprinkler

24. wash the car together

25. have a water gun fight

I think that's a pretty good start. I am feeling much better about the summer already. Now I just have to some up with a way to let the kids decide what to do without fighting with each other.

Deal Seeking Mom

2009-04-30T07:03:00.000-04:00

Head on over to Deal Seeking Mom to check out the launch of the new forum and to register for a chance to win a pair of Crocs. Deal Seeking Mom has started the forum in hopes that it will be a a community where you can share information on deals, freebies and money saving tips as well as build friendships.

How sad

2009-04-29T18:04:00.001-04:00

How sad is it that the highlight of my day is opening the paper to find that Harris Teeter is having triple coupons again all week long?

Can you see me

2009-04-28T10:46:00.006-04:00

We seem to have a ghost living in our house

He is particularly fond of Spongebob Squarepants and snack foods.

We don't ever see him, we just know he's here because we find the television on with no one watching and wrappers from snacks hidden under the ottoman.

Maybe you have one of these ghosts in your house too?

Saving Big at CVS

2009-04-25T19:22:00.008-04:00

I love CVS. They have great sales plus they have these things called Extra Bucks. You earn them for buying certain products and then on your next visit you can use them. I have been shopping CVS but until a couple of months ago I wasn't really trying to cash in on the savings.

Two weeks ago I went to CVS and got $76 worth of product for $24 plus I got almost $20 in extra bucks. This week I went to the store with only a few items on my list. Here's what I got:

Notice the Reese's have been opened. I promised Harrison this special treat. He couldn't wait to eat one and once they were opened everyone else wanted one.

Here's what I my items cost:

Lady Speed Stick $2/6

Claritin $9.99

Crest Toothpaste $1.99 each

Reeses $1.50

Sleep pants $9.99

Total: $31.46

I used these coupons:

$.50 off Crest

$.75 off Crest

$7.00 off Claritin

$4 off an $20 order

I had $23.98 in Extra Bucks so the total cost of my order was FREE! And I got $7 back in Extra Bucks. I also had $12 in Extra Bucks left over so my next visit I will have $19 to spend.

Tomorrow is Sunday and you know what that means. New sales for CVS. Yes, I know that's sad.

I am not the only one with a passion for CVS. If you want to follow The Centsible Sawyer, you'll find more good deals and a whole bunch of CVS Superstars.

Blind man

2009-04-25T18:04:00.004-04:00

I haven't been really good about posting lately. I have just been so busy that at the end of the day, I am totally wiped and my brain isn't functioning enough to write anything. Last Sunday, David got sick and spent the entire day in the bed. Monday when I was at work, he called and told me that his eye was bothering him and he needed a ride to the eye doctor. Without his contacts he is legally blind so needless to say he didn't want to drive. Come to find out he had ulcers on his cornea. Since he couldn't wear his contacts we had to order him glasses but they wouldn't be in until Tuesday. Monday night I watched television and David listened. I tried to give him a blow by blow of the show but I don't think he was amused.

On Tuesday he was going stir crazy so I took him along with me to Costco. As we entered the store, his phone rang so I pointed inside to let him know that I was going inside. I went and filled out the membership form, had my picture taken and my card done and still, no David. I was wondering what in the world he could be doing for so long so I walked back outside and there he sat staring at his hand. I forgot that he couldn't see 5 feet in front of him and he had no way of finding me so he had just sat down. He tried to call my cell phone but I had left it in the car. When we were in the store, I made him hold onto the buggy so he wouldn't get lost. It was kind of like leading around a blind guy.

Thankfully he got glasses on Tuesday and was able to drive himself around. It took me a few days to get use to his new look but I have to say he looks rather nice in glasses. He isn't so thrilled with the glasses and I think he is glad that he can wear contacts again on Monday.

Honest to goodness useful Earth Friendly Tips

2009-04-22T07:49:00.000-04:00

In our household, we have been taking steps for quite awhile now to be more earth friendly. Since today is Earth Day I thought I would share some "Earth friendly" tips that I came across and that you might be able to use.

Use water and white vinegar to wash your vegetables and produce. A few squirts will get rid of the nasty stuff (like pesticide residue) that you don't want. Not buying store-bought washes means that you don't have to recycle the bottles they come in (not to mention the energy and materials needed to make and ship them in the first place). Of course, you'll still need to buy bottles of vinegar, but you'll buy fewer of them. Mix water to white vinegar 3:1 in a spray bottle (if you've already got a bottle of the premade stuff, use it up and reuse the sprayer). Rinse with water after you spray.
Try the Eco-friendly equivalent of your regular cleaner and reduce the amount of toxic chemicals released into our waterways. Here's a list of a few you might try on the Ideal Bite website. For more information on the hazards of chemicals in cleaners and make your own alternatives, check out the Worldwatch Institute website.
Install compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) when your older incandescent bulbs burn out. Buy household items, like detergent and cleaning supplies, in concentrated forms so that you get more product per package.
Unplug appliances when you're not using them. Or, use a "smart" power strip that senses when appliances are off and cuts "phantom" or "vampire" energy use.
Make sure you have a faucet aerator on each faucet. These inexpensive appliances conserve heat and water, while keeping water pressure high.
Use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it generates large amounts of container waste. I recently purchased a PUR water pitcher dispenses flavoring into the filtered water and now even my kids come in and grab a glass of water.
Borrow from libraries instead of buying personal books and movies. This saves money, not to mention the ink and paper that goes into printing new books.
Buy your produce locally. Not only are you supporting your local farmers but reducing the gas emissions that are produced by the trucks who haul these. We joined a CSA this year and it has been a wonderful experience. Not only are we trying vegetables that we might never have tried, we are helping support our local farmers.
Use reusable containers rather than plastic bags to pack lunches and store foods. Also try reusable sandwich wraps such as those by Kids Konserve.
Take reusable bags with you to the store rather than using plastic or paper. The bags from Envirosax are not only Eco-friendly but Tres Chic.
And perhaps the most obvious (so why doesn't everyone do it?) is to RECYCLE. The average person creates 4.5 pounds of trash per day. Think how much is going into the landfills if you are not re-cycling. For more information on recycling check out Earth911.com.

Happy Earth Day!

Just goes to show......

2009-04-19T12:21:00.002-04:00

I think that in this day and age we have all become a bit too judgemental. Sadly, I don't think that there are very many people out there who can claim they have never passed judgement on a person just from the way that they looked. This is what an entire audience did to Susan Boyle when she walked out on the stage of Britain's Got Talent last week.

AS she walked onto the stage, appearing a bit unpolished, the audience did not try to hide their laughter. One of the judges even joined in on the mockery and laughed at her before she began her performance. All of this merely from her appearance.

She seemed a bit flustered at one of the judges questions but when asked what she was going to sing, she was confident as she said "I Dreamed a Dream". Then the music started and what came out of this woman's mouth could be called nothing short of amazing. The audience began to stand and clap for the woman that just moments before had been the object of their criticism.

After her performance one of the judges made the comment that "Everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing now." She went on to say that this should be a lesson learned. Indeed it should. You can't judge a book by it's cover.

What a shame that it took her 47 years to bless the world with her voice.

(You Tube has disabled embedding of the video so you'll have to click the link below. Please do because you really don't want to miss this).

Susan Boyle sings "I Dream a Dream".

Jailbait

2009-04-16T20:08:00.004-04:00

One evening, while on vacation, we were sitting around the fire when Holden rushes in and says "Dad, Harrison needs to tell you something and it's BAAAAAD!" We all turn to stare as Harrison walks slowly in the door. David asks him what it is and he is silent. The minutes tick by and still he says nothing.

Finally, after further prodding, we find out that Harrison had stolen a corn cob pipe from a gift shop we had visited earlier that day. His initial story was that he "bought" the pipe but after realizing that we knew he didn't have any money he fessed up to the theft.

We were shocked that he would do something like that and to make it even worse by telling a lie. The next day, we hauled him all the way back to the store and made him apologize to the man at the store but not before taking his first (and hopefully last) mugshot:

Notice the shirt that was bought the very same day as the theft.

It says I'm up to no good, want to join me?

Vacation

2009-04-13T21:07:00.007-04:00

Why is it that I always feel like I need another vacation to get over my vacation? I suppose it has something to do with having three children. Or it could have to do with the fact that I cannot sit still for one minute because I always feel like I have to maximize my time - in other words cram as much as humanly possible into a day.

We left on Saturday April 4th to go to Banner Elk for vacation. I rented a beautiful cabin near Grandfather Mountain overlooking a lake. The plan was to go hiking, explore the mountains, be one with the earth kind of thing. After our hikes we were going to take it easy, enjoy the hot tub, play games and hang out with each other.

Sunday was a beautiful day so we packed out lunch and headed over to Grandfather Mountain for a hike. The skies were clear and the weather was just cool enough to make hiking really enjoyable. That was until we were a mile into the hike, halfway up the mountain and I felt like my lungs were going to explode. To make matters worse, my nine year old and six year old were running circles around me, bouncing off the rocks, and generally making me feel like I was an 80 year old woman. But I am proud to say that I made it all the way up the mountain and back down. I was never so glad to see my van though. After having a picnic lunch, we headed on to the Blue Ridge Parkway and down to Linville Falls. The kids were pretty tired by then but were game for hiking to the Falls. The trail was not as strenuous (thank goodness) but still was a good 3 mile round trip. After leaving the Falls we were all wiped out and David suggested we stop at McDonald's for an ice cream. Wouldn't you know the ice cream machine was broke?

On Monday, it was very overcast and cold. The forecast was calling for a 70% chance of snow with an accumulation of 6 inches, a huge change from Sunday's weather. We figured hiking was out so we headed into Boone to look around and hopefully find a sled. We stopped in Mast General Store and let the kids pick some candy from the thousands of kinds available. Afterwards, we were searched for a sled but had no luck finding one until I spotted a Goodwill and suggested we stop there. Lo and behold I found one for $2.50.

Monday afternoon it started sleeting and snowing and by the evening, the snow was really coming down. We had a nice evening in front of the fire watching some television and eating popcorn. When we woke on Tuesday morning, it was still snowing and several inches had already accumulated. The kids went sledding but it was so cold and windy, they didn't stay out for long. Later on that afternoon, they went back out and spent hours riding the sled and playing in the snow. Haley even built a miniature snowman. The snow finally stopped sometime Tuesday night and we ended up with somewhere around 7 inches of snow.

Haley sledding and screaming. She didn't do one without the other.

Harrison sledding down the road.

Holden standing in the snow so I could record how deep it was.

Socks, mittens and shoes drying in front of the fire.

By noon on Wednesday, most of the snow had melted. Although it was still cold and windy, we took advantage of the day and headed over to Moses H. Cone Park. After we left there, we ate some lunch and headed over to Julian Price Park to hike one of the trails there. We chose the shortest trail although it was still a three mile hike up and down some pretty steep hills. Add to that the mushy ground where the snow had melted and you can just imagine how dicey it got at times. But the trail was really pretty because it twisted around in the forest and went over several creeks. I was afraid that one of the kids was going to end up in the water but thankfully we all arrived back at the van without any mishap. Afterwards we went in to Blowing Rock to walk around downtown but unfortunately most of the stores were closed. I don't think I have ever been to a town where the stores are closed on Tuesday-Thursday.

Thursday morning, we headed back home. It was 80 degrees and sunny by the time we reached the city limits. A huge change from our mountain adventure but I think the kids had enough of the cold for awhile.

Save, Save, Save

2009-04-02T22:51:00.002-04:00

Last week I did really well with my coupon savings. Harris Teeter (our local grocery store) had TRIPLE coupons all week. Unfortunately there was a limit of 20 coupons per day. Fortunately one trip was all I needed to save BIG. My grocery total was $54.22. My savings was $102.15. Even my husband was impressed, which trust me is a hard thing to do.

To prepare for my trip, I scoured the weekly ad to find the specials. They had quite a few Buy One Get Two Free specials. I took advantage of the trash bags and chicken breasts. The frozen Green Giant veggies were on sale for $1 each. I love these for lunch so I bought 7 of them. There was an automatic $4 rebate when 10 Pillsbury products were purchased so I used my coupons, got triple savings on most of them and on top of that the $4 rebate.

My best savings were:

a can of corn that I actually got $.95 back because the coupon value exceeded the cost of the corn
a tube of Colgate toothpaste for $.35
a package of Magic Erasers for $.50
two packs of brown sugar for a total of $.49
a roll of Viva paper towels for $.25
a bottle of mustard for $.29

So with all my savings, I am off to take a much needed vacation.

Stuff I Love Right Now

2009-03-29T18:54:00.004-04:00

I got this great idea from Kristina Werner at kwerner design blog (check out her awesome designs). This blog post appealed to me because it records a snippet of my life at the present time. I am forever thinking that I need to create scrapbook pages about myself but never get around to it. Now maybe I can keep this record and come back at some point and create a page or two.

March 2009 Things I Love

Music

I am really loving the Darius Rucker song It Won't Be Like This For Long. I had several of the other songs from his album Learn to Live but hadn't even heard this one until last week when I caught Darius in n interview on a local radio station. They played this song and I bought it when I got home. By the way Darius is not only a talented singer but a very funny, down to earth guy.

Love, love Jason Mraz's I'm Yours and You and I Both.

I just discovered Joshua Radin and his I'd Rather Be With You is one of my most played.

Television and Movies

Even though I saw the movie Twilight in the theater, we have it at home and I have watched it twice. My hubby said it's a total chick flick but he at least sat through it once with me.

Grey's Anatomy still tops my list of favorite television shows. I look forward all day on Thursday to seeing Dr. McDreamy.

I have just started watching Private Practice and am hooked.

And of course there's American Idol. I think that there are some very talented singers this year but my favorite is Danny Gokey. I love his voice but his story is also incredible.

Books

Just read The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther. I happened to walk by it at the library and just liked the title and it turned out to be an awesome book. That doesn't happen very often.

Life is a Verb by Patti Digh is on my bedside table. I am really liking the thought provoking questions and activities at the end of each chapter.

And I am reading another self-help type book called The Bathtub Is Overflowing but I Feel Drained: How to Defeat Mommy Stress by Lysa TerKeurst. I love her blog and the book is a very good daily devotional.

Other Stuff

Since I am always looking for things to please my picky eaters, I am a follower of Picky Palate.

I recently discovered these cool lunch boxes. What a nifty way to pack lunches for your kids. And it helps the environment because it's reusable.

And since I am all into saving money, The Coupon Mom website comes in really handy.
Palmolive has a new dishwashing liquid, Pure + Clear, that contains no fragrances and dyes and the bottle is made from 25% post consumer recycled plastic. And it works great!
Bath and Body Works True Blue® Spa Heel of Approval™ Cracked Heal Treatment is the bomb. Seriously. I used it for a few days and could already tell a difference in my dry skin.

Too many choices

2009-03-28T20:12:00.004-04:00

Why is it that we have 300 television channels and at least that many movies on DVD, but the kids can never find anything to watch? The boys wanted to watch a movie tonight so I flipped through our massive collection of DVD's and read them every title. When nothing seemed to strike their interest, I flipped through the entire television guide, twice. Still nothing. So I had to go through the DVD's again. Finally they both decided on Nim's Island. Then I had to figure out how to turn the DVD player on and switch the television to movie mode. What happened to the good old days when we had twenty channels, a few movies on VHS tape and one remote controlled it all?

Saving Money

2009-03-24T14:43:00.005-04:00

In this economy most people are looking to save money any way they can. I have always been a pretty thrifty person but in the past few months I have found myself looking for ways to save even more. With the economy on such shaky ground, who can afford not to.

One of the easiest ways of saving money is to reducing eating out expenses. I figured the best way to do that was to write out a menu for the week and stick to it. This was rather painstaking but I managed to get an entire month's worth of meals on our calendar. The next step in saving some money was to start shopping the sales and using coupons.

My theory has always been to buy the specials from the grocery store and the rest from Walmart or Sam's Club. It take some planning and a bit more time but in the end, I find that the saving really add up.

To save even more on our weekly grocery bills, I use coupons. I have always clipped coupons but sometime over the past few years, I have become a bit lazy in using them. I am not sure why except that perhaps the older my kids get the busier my schedule and therefore the less time I have to plan ahead.

I did a bit of online research to figure out the best ways to use coupons and the best places to find them. I thought I would share some of the best links.

1) It's Hip to Save has a great post describing easy ways to save time while you're out to save money. While you are there, if you are new to couponing, you might want to check out the Couponing 101 link located in the Information Station. There are a bunch of other links to great money saving ideas.

2) The Grocery Game is a website that scans sales flyers for grocery and drug stores and matches them up with coupons. The list identifies items that are on sale, tells you when and where to find the coupon (online or in the coupon flyer from the newspaper) and also whether it is a good buy. Items are color coded - Green for too good to pass up, Blue for stock up and black for pass unless you need it. The site does charge for the service which is $10 for 8 weeks of one store list and $5 for each additional list. You can get a trail subscription to the service for one month for $1. I subscribed to the service for the trail month and found that my local store did not have some of the sales listed and also I was unable to find some of the coupons that were listed. While I did like the concept, I don't think I will continue the service beyond the trail. For those new to couponing, this might be a good site to get you started.

3) Get Rich Slowly (I like the website name) has an article on how to save $100 (or more) at the grocery store this month.

4) Jill Cataldo aka Super Couponer has some great links on her blog. She teaches super-couponing classes (click on the link located in red on her blog) that teach you how to save money on groceries and get groceries for free or pennies on the dollar. I am unfortunately not near any of her classes so I'll have to make do with her online tips for now.

5) Coupon Clippers is a service that list that claims to be the largest online grocery coupon clipping service. You can order coupons for a small handling fee. They also have sales alerts. This service would be great if for instance your store had a buy one get one free sale on something you use on a regular basis. If your store doubles or triples the store coupon, you could get the item for pennies or even free. So if you have several coupons for this item you could really stock up.

6) Coupon Mom is a free list with a ton of money saving links. You can subscribe to their newsletter (which I highly suggest). I found a link on the site that allowed me to look up coupons for the items that I use. It does take a bit more time than using a site such as Grocery Game but it is FREE.

Obviously in order to use coupons, you must have them first. In addition to the coupon inserts in the Sunday paper, you can find coupons in All You Magazine and Better Homes and Gardens magazine. To print online coupons, you can go to Coolsavings.com and Coupons.com. Most manufacturers websites are also a good place to find printable coupons. A few even offer an email newsletter with money saving coupons attached. General Mills recently sent me an email with $4.75 worth of coupons.

The bottom line is that saving money takes some time and planning ahead is the key to maximizing your savings.

Happy Savings!

New Design

2009-03-21T18:15:00.006-04:00

Just testing out a new blog background. I tried creating my own but it was causing me more stress than it was worth so I used a premade one from Blog Helpers. I hope to one day soon be able to sit down and figure out this whole blog design thing but for now I think this one looks pretty good. Plus it was free so that makes it even better.

Prayer request

2009-03-19T20:32:00.006-04:00

You never know what your children say when you aren't around. Sometimes it's better not to know. Especially if it comes from your child who has a vivid imagination and has not yet developed a conscious.

At church on Sunday, the kids are able to give prayer requests during their chapel time. Harrison informed us tonight that his teacher prayed for his dad on Sunday. When we asked why, he said, "Because I told them you were in Iraq".

David and I have decided we will no longer be going to pick Harrison up from Sunday School.

2009-03-17T09:52:00.003-04:00

Happy St. Patty's Day

Just a printzel

2009-03-16T20:37:00.004-04:00

You never know what to expect as far as dinner conversation around our house. Sometimes all the kids want to talk at once. Sometimes they don't want to talk at all. And sometimes you don't know if you should believe what they say (mostly this involves Harrison).

About halfway through dinner tonight, Harrison started telling us about a boy at lunch today. I don't think that David or I were really listening at first. I heard Harrison say "Today at lunch John stuck a pencil up his nose, pulled it out and ate it." It didn't really register with me until Holden asked him to repeat what he said. So Harrison repeated "Today at lunch John stuck a pencil up his nose, pulled it out and ate it." Holden (aka "The Lawyer') launched into his twenty question mode. He wanted to know why someone had a pencil at lunch and how they could possibly eat it. Harrison turned to Holden, rolled his eyes and said in his most matter of fact voice "Not a pencil, A PRINTZEL" which is what he calls a pretzel. Oddly enough Haley also called pretzels printzels for years so I think she knew right off what he was talking about. Either way that was disgusting which is the point I think he was trying to make.

A birthday to remember

2009-03-09T20:43:00.005-04:00

I am still standing after a weekend long birthday celebration starting with five 13 year old girls spending the night and ending with a birthday dinner with grandparents on Sunday. To top all that off, I came down with a really bad cold. Seems like once the kids bring it home, I am destined to catch it. I love them and all but wish they'd keep their germs to themselves.

Friday night we took Haley and her friends to Yamato's Japanese Steakhouse for dinner. The dinner was good and Haley got to ring the gong and the entire room sang her "Happy Birthday". The ride home was rather eventful with David getting pulled over by the cops. The girls were saying how cold it was so David rolled the windows down to make them even colder. It kind of backfired because they decided it would be fun to yell out the windows at the cars we were passing. They yelled at a police car as we drove by and he whipped in behind us and followed us for a bit before pulling us over. Talk about hearing a pin drop. The girls all got really quiet.The police officer thought it was a group of teenagers and wanted to investigate further. While he had us stopped he gave David a warning ticket for his tag light not working. I have kept the ticket to put in Haley's scrapbook so she can remember the time she got her dad pulled over.

When we got home, the girls went to their own "private theater". David had spent the better part of Friday setting up the garage with a movie projector, large screen and some seating. We put out a table of theater snacks (candy, chips, and drinks). The girls started out watching a scary movie and you could hear them scream every few minutes. I know the neighbors were wondering what was going on. David couldn't resist scaring them so he snuck out back and pushed a broom through the doggy door and knocked over the recycle bins. The girls all came running in the house screaming, thinking something was trying to get in. I think they finally went to bed sometime around 2 a.m.

On Sunday Haley's grandparents and great grandmother came for lunch. Since Haley is our swimmer, her grandma made a cake that looked like a swimming pool with swimmers in the lanes. She also got some cute shirts and a sweatshirt that said Got Chlorine? on them. It was such a beautiful afternoon, we went outside on the screened porch after lunch.

Now, the birthday celebration is finally over and I am trying to recuperate. Thank goodness birthdays only come once a year.

Happy Birthday Little Girl

2009-03-06T15:14:00.005-05:00

Today we celebrate Haley's thirteenth birthday.

My how time flies.

Happy Birthday Sweet Pea.

2009-03-03T18:28:00.002-05:00

Friday I sent Holden off to school even though he complained of his ear hurting. I would have let him stay at home but he was adamant that he wanted to go. He had gotten all dressed up as a lawyer for career day at school. And he did look cute with his blazer, tie and briefcase. So I gave him some Tylenol and sent him on his way.

I went out to breakfast with the hubby and looked forward to an entire day of doing nothing. Just me and no schedule. Funny how quickly plans change. I was pulling into Target around 9:00 and my cell phone rang. The school nurse was calling to tell me Holden was in the office with a fever and complaining of feeling bad. She wanted to know if I wanted him to tough it out or if I wanted to come and pick him up. Being the outstanding mother that I am, I elected to pick my child up and forfeited my one day of leisure.

Saturday wasn't much better for Holden and by Sunday the only thing that got him off the couch was a bathroom break or a trip upstairs to lay in his bed. I figured he would be better by Monday, but the cough was much worse and he complained of feeling achy. I was anxious that he might have the flu but a trip to the doctor on Monday ruled that out. Instead, he has bronchitis and some kind of weird viral infection that mimics the flu. He was released to go back to school today but he was in no shape to go. He was up half the night coughing and this morning he still had huge bags under his eyes. Early this afternoon he had a brief period where I thought he might actually be on the upswing but he wouldn't eat dinner and has been laying on the couch most of the afternoon.

Oddly enough Harrison is jealous that Holden is able to stay at home from school. Sunday night he started "prepping" us for what was to come on Monday. He complained of a headache and a stomachache. Monday morning, Harrison tried refusing to go to school and when he realized that wasn't working, he started complaining of a stomachache. I have fallen for that line before so I sent him off to school. He made it all day and came home feeling fine. Last night when we were talking about keeping Holden home another day, Harrison started trying again to get us to let him stay at home from school. He told David he had diarrhea three times yesterday and he felt sick. Then he told me that he had a small cough and he thought he might be getting Holden's cold. I gave him some juice and sent him to bed telling him he would be fine in the morning. This morning he was slow to go but I managed to get him up and to school without a huge hassle. Late this afternoon, I got a call from the school nurse telling me that Harrison was in her office and he had thrown up in the classroom. I felt so bad because I thought that perhaps I had neglected to take his "illness" seriously. David went and picked him up and noticed that once Harrison was in the car, he perked up. When he got home, it wasn't 30 minutes before he asked for 1) something to eat and 2) if he could go ride his bike. Those were enough to convince me that what Harrison suffered was sympathy sickness. Upon further questioning, he didn't really throw up but rather had "a little spit up in his mouth" and it wasn't in the classroom as we had been told but in the bathroom (where a teacher would not be able to see).

So who knows what tomorrow will bring. I am not sure Holden will be any better so he will likely have to stay home another day. Harrison, I am sure, will also try to concoct some other illness to try and get out of school. After these past 5 days, I have decided I am ready for winter and all the colds that seems to come with it to end. Having sick kids is no fun.

The wrong line

2009-02-24T21:03:00.002-05:00

Why is it that no matter where I shop, I always get in the wrong checkout line? Just a couple of weeks ago I went to Sam's, which is notorious for long, slow lines. I of course was in a hurry, trying to cram all of my errands into the few hours I had without children. When I walked in, the lines were short so I figured I had plenty of time. I had my list and zipped quickly through the aisles. As I rounded the corner heading for the checkout, I found that the lines had tripled in length (no surprise really).

I got in what appeared to be the shortest line, just three people in front of me with carts only slightly full. The first guy gets checked out quickly. The cashier starts checking out the second person, picks up a huge container of popcorn oil and drops it on the floor. Needless to say that it was a gigantic mess (I may never eat popcorn again after looking at that gross stuff). Of course the cashier has to call maintenance to come and mop up the spill. Maintenance was apparently on break and didn't respond right away. The cashier continued to check out the customer at which point the Customer Service Manager "Betty Brains" walks over and says "You know there is some mess all over the floor right here? We need to get this cleaned up". Duh. I suppose she won't make it as a brain surgeon. Thankfully rather than making us get out of line, the cashier piled a huge amount of paper towels over the top of the mess and made us all walk around it. What should have been a quick trip into Sam's turned into a 45 minute ordeal.

This doesn't just happen to me at Sam's though. I will get into the ten items or less aisle and look ahead and some ding dong with 45 items is in the front of the line. Or I will get into a line and someone will have an issue with the price that rang up and when they call for a price check no one answers (because once again the are all on break). My favorite (or not so) is when they open a new lane and say they will take the next in line. I walk over, hand them my stuff only to have them realize that there is no cash till in the register and they have to move to another lane or they can't get the register to "sign them on".

I use to change lanes when the one I was in was moving slow. I don't do that anymore because ultimately the lane I change to stops moving for one of the reasons above. It really is a no win situation. So if you see me in line at the store, head the other way because I can guarantee that I will be in the slow line.

Now I lay me down to sleep

2009-02-20T11:17:00.002-05:00

Harrison and I use to say his prayers together every night before bed. Sometime in the past year though, it became less frequent. I guess since school started it's been such a rush to get everyone's homework done, lunches packed, and clothes out that our bedtime routine has suffered some. The other night as I was tucking Harrison in, he asked me "Mom, do you remember when we use to say my prayer every night?" Talk about feeling bad. So of course we have started our prayer routine again.

Harrison has begin to enjoying praying. At supper he no longer sings "God our Father" when it's his time to bless the food. He chooses to say an actual prayer thanking God for whatever comes to mind. It's always surprising to hear what he feels blessed with. It's the same with the bedtime prayers. Just the other night he began his prayers in the usual way "Now I lay me down to sleep..." When he gets to the end, he always thanks God for something. This evening, his prayer went something like this "Thank you God for these wonderful moms and dads, thank you also for the wonderful kids in our house and please God watch out for the poor people so they don't die tonight. Amen."

Curious as to his last request, I asked him why he was afraid that the poor people might die. He responded by telling me that poor people didn't have food, warm clothes and houses to sleep in so they really needed God to look out for them.

I felt so proud of him for thinking about people less fortunate than him. Sometimes I think that my kids get so much that they have no real clue that there are people out there who struggle to make ends meet. And even worse people out there who have nothing. Harrison might not have total comprehension about what it means to be poor, but he does know in his own 6 year old mind, that being poor is hard and those people need some extra prayers. And that makes me proud.

Valentines Goodies

2009-02-14T08:41:00.005-05:00

Happy Valentines Day!

Here in the Woods household, the week before Valentine's is always kind of crazy for me. I like to make gifts for the kids to give to their teachers. And I also make the kids valentines for their classmates. This year I had extra gifts to make for my preschool class.

Every year I tell myself that I need to start two weeks before Valentine's Day and each year, I find myself working frantically to finish the day before they are to be given. I do think that the teacher's really appreciate all the effort. I am not so sure about the kids. I think they just go straight for the candy and don't give a second thought to the package that it comes in.

Here are the Valentine's lollipop holders I made for the boys classmates. I had to make a total of 45. These should have gone really quick but I had a couple of problems - 1) my long reach hole punch broke and 2) the slot punch I thought I had was no where to be found. In the end it all worked out and I think they turned out rather cute (although my slot punch is still no where to be found, imagine that).

I made the boxes for my preschool class and filled them with some candy kisses, hearts, stickers and a lollipop. It took me quite awhile to cut out each box (14 in all) but once that was done, they were easy to put together. The stamp set that I used for both the lollipop holders and the boxes was Happy Heart Day by Stampin' Up.

These bags were my favorites this Valentine's Day and they were so easy to make (here are the directions). These were for the teacher gifts and inside each is a bag of homemade chocolate almond truffles (see below).

Chocolate Almond Truffles (click here for the recipe).

The things kids say..........

2009-02-12T17:32:00.004-05:00

I took Harrison and Holden to the barber shop today to get their hair cut. It's the same barbershop that their dad use to go to when he was a little boy. The kids love to go because they can watch television while they are getting their hair cut and as an added bonus, they get an ice cream after they are done.

Today Harrison was sitting up in the barber chair, mesmerized by the television. For some odd reason it was on the Weather Channel and they were showing Storm Stories. A Nutrisystem commercial came on and Harrison says loudly (because I was sitting on the other side of the room) "Hey mom, that's what you need." I seriously thought the Barber was going to fall over laughing. Yep, leave it to my child to humilate me in front of a barbershop full of people.

Exercise

2009-02-05T20:33:00.006-05:00

I have a confession to make. I detest exercising. I am not one of those people who jump out of bed every morning eager to take a run (you know who you are) nor am I one of those people who get psyched up as I head to the gym.

I can not think of a single period in my life when I actually liked exercise. And I don't have one athletic bone in my body. As a child, I was the kid who got picked last for the kickball team. I hated PE. And in my one feeble attempt to be athletic, playing softball, I failed miserably (what was I thinking?).

When I was in college, I certainly didn't think anything about exercise. Well, there was the one semester I thought about taking up running and tried it for about a week but decided it was much more fun to participate in other activities.

And as an adult, I have been fairly active -riding my bike, walking the dog, playing with the kids. All those things could technically equate to exercise even though that isn't why I did them. Off and on over the years I would start exercising but it didn't take much for me to stop. A change in routine, a sickness (mine or one of the children's) or even a change in season. I always had an excuse. And once I got out of the routine it was so hard to get back into one.

But now that I am 40ish I know that if I don't take control of my life, it will only become harder. Diets have never really worked for me because my life is so hectic with three kids, it is hard to count calories or track everything I eat. So I knew that in order to shed these extra pounds and feel better, I was going to have to do two things: the first is change the way I eat and the second was to exercise.

The first step was to start eating healthier. Eliminating fast food, processed food and foods high in sugar. I have read many books on the subject but the best so far have been Joy's Life Diet and Small Changes, Big Results. Both books contain some excellent information on nutrition. I might also mention that The Abs Diet for Women and Sugarbusters also have some good nutrition information.

And as much as I hated it, the second step was to start some sort of exercise routine. For Christmas my mother gave our family the Wii Fit. It makes exercise seem more like a game yet it can be quite challenging. Beginning at the first of the year, I started using the Wii Fit for 30-40 minutes, 5 days a week. Now I have started incorporating some additional exercise in with the Wii Fit. My favorite DVD these days is the Sexy in Six series from Tracy Mallett. Although there are some intense exercises, I figure I can do anything for six minutes. And some days six minutes feel like an eternity. On nice days I also like walking or riding my bike. Anything to mix up the routine a little so that it doesn't monotonous.

It is still hard for me to make myself exercise. The truth is there are so many other things I would rather use my time for. But I have discovered that it's all about balance. And when my jeans feel a little loser or someone says "You've lost some weight" I know the effort is worth it.

I still allow myself to have some of the less healthy foods I love but only once and only on the weekend. The more weight I lose, the easier it is for me to say no to anything that isn't healthy for me. I guess it feels like I am taking a step backward every time I "cheat". So now that I am on my way to changing my life, I am hoping to make a positive impact on my family. I look forward to the day when I serve roasted cauliflower or fresh steamed green beans and my family all says "yum" rather then "yuck".

Oh, and I am also looking forward to the day when I can fit in my size 6 jeans again.

It's all about Love

2009-01-29T13:41:00.007-05:00

Since the big focus in February is Valentine's Day, I decided that during the month our family would write "love" notes to each other. As I was walking through Walmart a couple of weeks ago I came across a blank paper mailbox kit. For $5 the kit came with the mailbox, some stickers and some foam letters. I wasn't keen on the colors of the stickers, plus I wanted to make it my own so I decided to use some Basic Grey paper to cover the mailbox. I used ric rac along the sides and I covered a silver heart brad with pink fun flock to attach the flag. I had some chipboard shapes (heart and scallop circle) which I covered with Basic Grey paper and used some rub on letters to spell "love notes". All in all it took me less than an hour to do the mailbox. The only disappointing thing is that the mailbox is made from a flimsy cardboard so I am not sure it will hold up for more than one year. I wish they had made a metal mailbox which would have lasted longer.

My hope is that during February my family will take time to notice the small acts of kindness that others do. The note can be as simple as "You are the best just because" or can be more specific such as "Thank you for helping me with my homework". The point is that so often we take for granted the small things others do for us. Hopefully my kids will learn a lesson from this and have fun doing it. And maybe once they feel how nice it is to be praised or how good it feels to praise others, they will continue to do it.

Random Questions

2009-01-23T20:34:00.004-05:00

I subscribe to a lot of blogs. Some for the fun of it, some for inspiration and some for information. One of the blogs I subscribe to, The Sisterhood of Scrap, is giving away a prize to one lucky winner who posts and answers the following questions on their blog. And since I am a sucker for contests, here goes......

1. What color are your socks you have on now? green (they match my sweater and I have to be color coordinated, right?)

2.Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? my husband

3. What did you have for lunch today? A grilled chicken and pesto sandwich with a fruit cup and unsweet ice tea (see I am still sticking to my diet).

4.Name someone you admire. I am naming two - my mom and dad

5. How many cars have you owned? 6 (3 of which have been minivans)

6.How many homes have you lived in? Okay not counting college (because technically those weren't homes) it would be 11. I am a traveling gypsy.

7.Are you left-handed or right-handed? right handed ( but oddly enough I have three lefties)

8.Do you wear shoes around the house? No way. They come off time I walk in the door.

9. What was the last thing you took a photo of? My dog

10. Do you like hot chocolate? Not really. I prefer a Starbucks Caramel Latte.

And the award goes to.......

2009-01-22T14:29:00.000-05:00

(drum roll) me! Thank you so much Nancy for giving me this award. I am very flattered. Nancy has a great blog chronicling her journey through the foreign adoption process and beyond. Take a minute to check it out at The Schwartz Family Blog. You'll love her adorable little guy!

As recipient of this award, I have been asked to nominate some of my favorite bloggers. Here are the rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post

2. Nominate 5 blogs that show gratitude or great attitude or both

3. Be sure to link your nominees within your post

4. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blog

5. Share the love and link this post to the person whom you received your award from

This was kind of hard for me because I enjoy reading so many blogs. So I decided to nominate a few that I really enjoy and have been following for sometime.

And the awards go to (in no particular order at all)........

The Life of Heather Leigh

In All My Spare Time

My Time, My Creations, My Stampendence

Picky Palate

Stamp A Little Love Baby

Sad Day

2009-01-20T15:52:00.003-05:00

Friday morning my husband's 100 year old grandmother passed away (link to obit). For the past 10 or so years she has been living with Alzheimer's. I am lucky to have met her before her mind was clouded and her memories were lost. She was a beautiful person inside and out. Her passion for life was catching and when you were around her there was no doubt that she loved life.

My brother in law spoke at the funeral and talked about how when someone dies, the headstone reflects the date of birth and the date of death but in actuality it is the in between that matters most. During her life, she left an indelible mark on everyone she met. And while we mourn the loss, we celebrate the in between.

It is sad that she is gone but she is now in a place where her mind is at last clear again. I am thankful for the years that I knew her and know that one day I will see her again.

As a side note, I am awed by the fact that she lived 100 years. It is a testament to the kind of person that she was. Ironically I got an email a few days before her death detailing what life was like in 1908, the year she was born. I thought it interesting enough to pass along. It's amazing the changes that took place during her life!

In the year 1908...........

The average life expectancy was 47 years.
Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
The average wage in 1908 was 22 cents per hour.
The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year .
More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME .
Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Sugar cost four cents a pound.
Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
The five leading causes of death were Pneumonia and influenza, Tuberculosis, Diarrhea, Heart disease and Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars.
The population of Las Vegas , Nevada, was only 30
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day
Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health'.
Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the entire US

Dieting

2009-01-14T14:14:00.005-05:00

While folding clothes last week, I turned the television on to The View. They were having a segment about weight loss with Joy Bauer as their guest. Joy is the resident nutrition/health expert for The Today Show. Her role on the show is to report on recent studies and help guide viewers towards making good choices at the supermarket so that they can develop their own strategies for staying healthy and trim.

Diets rarely work for me so listening to Joy talk about making life changes really hit home. I decided to check her website out. I ordered her book, Joy's LIFE Diet: Four Steps to Thin FOREVER . I started the first step this week - Release. During this week, the goal is to break free of food cravings and negative eating patterns (I have quite a few of those). Most important though is that during this week, you should get a jump start on dropping pounds.

The hardest part for me this week has been giving up my Diet Dr. Pepper. During week one you are not allowed ANY sugar or sugar substitutes. The reasoning behind avoiding sugar and sweeteners is that they keep sweetness on our taste buds and our minds and the goal is to reprogram yourself.

Okay, so I am two days into week one and am using all of my willpower not to open one of those Diet Dr. Pepper's in my outside fridge.

I am also a bit hungrier than normal but I suppose some of it is psychological. Yesterday by mid-afternoon I was really starving and caught site of the banana bread. It would have been so easy to rationalize in my mind that it couldn't be all bad because it contained bananas. But I withheld. Today I ate a handful of abby carrots without dipping them in ranch. I consider that an accomplishment. So I hope each day it will get easier.

So we will see how this week goes. I am hoping for a significant weight loss. It will make giving up the Diet Dr. Pepper all worthwhile.

Banana Bread

2009-01-12T14:46:00.005-05:00

Harrison and I made some banana bread after school today. He is always willing to help out when I am baking something. Cooking is a good way to teach children about measurements and following instructions. Plus I am hoping that when they grow up they will help their wives with the cooking.

When we bake, Harrison's job is to dump all of the ingredients into the bowl. Today he also helped to mash the bananas which were extremely ripe (really brown). He looked at the bananas and asked why I was putting rotten ones in the bread.

His favorite thing though is cracking the eggs. To avoid getting shells into whatever we are making, we crack them first into a glass bowl. He does a pretty good job but I do have to remind him that squeezing the egg will make it explode all over you. We still haven't mastered not wiping our hands on our shirt.

And I am sure you are wondering....Yes, that is painters tape on my cabinets. We have been trying to get the kitchen cabinets painted for a month now. I am kind of getting use to the tape though. Maybe I will start a new trend.

Here's the recipe if you care to try it:

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Pinch nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup mashed bananas (2-3 medium)

2 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper leaving enough to hang over the long sides. Whisk together all ingredients in a large bowl starting with the dry ones and then adding the wet ingredients one at a time.

Pour the batter into the lined pan, spreading evenly and smoothing with spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for about 1 hour.

And the finished product........

Krispy Kreme

2009-01-10T19:53:00.006-05:00

Well it looks like just a week into the new year, I have already failed at one of my resolutions having not posted anything in over a week. But life has been hectic here with the kids getting back into school and me starting a new job. Things seem to be settling down and we are getting back into the routine.

Today is my birthday and I turned 39 (again). Last week when my husband asked me where I wanted to go and eat for my birthday I immediately said Jestine's Kitchen. I have always wanted to try the place because I have heard rave reviews and every time we drive by there is a line to eat. I thought they served brunch but this morning I got up and checked online and it turns out that they only serve lunch and dinner. Since we had already missed breakfast we just decided to head down there for an early lunch. We got the kids in the car and headed downtown around 10:15 and when we drove past the place in search of a parking space, I noticed a sign hung on the door. It said they were closed from January 5th to 12th. Just my luck. So not knowing where else to go, we headed on over to one of my kids favorite places, IHOP. Although it was by no means Jestine's famous fare, it was cooked by someone else so that was okay in my book. I will just try to catch Jestine's when they reopen.

When we left IHOP, we drove by the Krispy Kreme and of course it is against the rules to not stop. So even though our stomachs were bulging and there was no possible way we could eat anything else, we stopped.

When we went in, they were making jelly filled doughnuts. It was very interesting to see the dough dropped into the vat of grease, fried up and then run through the glaze machine. Afterwards they were run through a "dryer" and then reached the jelly filling station where two women were filling each one with either raspberry jelly or lemon creme.

Oh how I wish I there had been room in my stomach for one of those hot off the rack raspberry jelly filled doughnuts. Since there was not we did the next best thing and got a dozen to go. Okay so there goes the second resolution to eat healthier (but it is my birthday).

When we were getting ready to leave, I suggested we take our picture in front of the store. Haley was utterly embarrassed which made it all the more fun. Can't you tell she is happy?

Crazy Dog

2009-01-03T15:00:00.007-05:00

When we moved into our house a year and a half ago, we were excited because the previous owners had a small part of the yard fenced off for their dogs. We were glad that we would be able to leave our dog, Sullivan in this area and not have to worry about him messing up the entire yard. Well, a few weeks after we moved, we noticed that we would put Sullivan in the small yard and come inside only to find that he would be sitting on our screened porch outside of the small fenced yard. We figured out pretty quickly that he was actually climbing the fence. Not jumping, climbing. He would put his hind legs on the lower rails and hoist himself up and over the fence. Sullivan is not a large dog so it took him some maneuvering to figure out that he could get himself over the fence. Well, there was no need to have the fence we we took it down and now he has the full run of the yard.

But, apparently like some children, some dogs are just climbers. Sullivan happens to be one of them. In our yard, we have a wooden swing set with a slide. Today, the kids were playing with Sullivan and hoisting him up the steps so they could throw the ball and watch him slide down. It only took a couple of times and Sullivan figured out how to climb up on his own. Here's the dog in action:

Up he goes

He is almost to the top

And getting ready to slide

And after climbing up and down the slide for quite sometime, he was exhausted and found a quite place to rest. Notice he isn't giving up his ball yet.

New Year once again

2008-12-31T13:01:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that 2008 is about to end. Where does the time go? It seems like just a few weeks ago, I sat down and typed out my resolutions for the year. I think it's true that the older you get, the faster time goes.

I had such big expectations for 2008. It was the year I turned 40 and I just knew it would be the year I made some big life changes. Fortunately I made it through the year, unfortunately not so many big life changes were made.

I wish that I could say that in the past year I...

lost enough weight to fit in those size 6 jeans
exercised every day
kept my house clean
read the Bible every day
had an endless supply of patience
submitted my pages to get published in a magazine

Instead, in the past year I...

rearranged my scrapbook room several times and it's still a mess
still haven't caught up on my kids scrapbook albums
stressed way to much about the little things
never really got into an exercise routine
haven't organized my master bedroom closet
still haven't hung up any pictures upstairs

However, the past year wasn't a total loss, because I did make some positive changes. In 2008, I...

discovered Facebook and reconnected with some old friends
completed a bible study at church
worked on building a stronger relationship with my husband
spent more one on one time with my kids
practiced small random acts of kindness
learned that I need me time and worked on making it
stopped saying yes every time someone asked me to volunteer
rediscovered my love of reading

In the next year, I am hoping to...

cook healthier meals
be more consistent at blogging
continue practicing small random acts of kindness
further develop my relationship with God
start exercising more (and maybe fit into those size 6 jeans)
laugh out loud more often
be more accepting of others
stop beating myself up for not being perfect
cuddle more with my kids
stop worrying about the unimportant small things
have a date night with my husband a couple of times a month

Happy New Year to you!

Under the tree

2008-12-22T16:59:00.003-05:00

Yesterday's Advent Calendar event was to sleep under the tree. The boys were excited about the prospect of camping out but Haley decided she preferred the comfort of her own bed. Here are my guys sleeping with the glow of the tree making them look like little angels.

Too young for a gun

2008-12-20T15:45:00.008-05:00

My 9-year-old has been trying to get my husband and me for weeks to buy him an Airsoft gun. While I lean toward "absolutely not, are you crazy you'll shoot your eye out". My husband leans toward the "why not I had a BB gun when I was a kid". Of course I carefully remind him that he also did other crazy, reckless things when he was young that I do not want my child to do EVER. But I digress.

My husbands argument is that it's a right of passage for all boys. He had a BB gun when he was a kid and he survived. No one lost an eye and no one was seriously injured. My argument is that I don't think a 9 year old needs a gun that shoots pellets. I don't have issues with my son playing with a gun, he has plenty of Nerf guns and play guns that don't shoot anything (or anyone). It's just that when I read the packaging on the Airsoft gun and see a warning that it isn't to be used by a person under the age of 18, I am pretty confident that it was put there for a reason.

For those of you not familiar with the Airsoft guns, they use little plastic pellets rather than metal BBs. This makes them safer than a normal BB gun but they can still put out an eye. The guns come in spring, compressed air and electric versions, but they all basically work the same way, which is to use compressed air to launch the pellets at an impressive velocity.

Airsoft guns also look like lethal firearms because they are exact replicas. The only notable difference between airsoft and lethal weapons, other than the blaze orange tip, is that airsoft guns fire small plastic BB’s instead of metal bullets.

One of the top selling online stores has this to say about safety and the airsoft guns.

First and foremost, protective gear should be used at all times. This includes, most importantly, eye and face protection. While airsoft shooting goggles or glasses (with shatter resistant lenses) are a must, a full protective face mask is highly recommended. Full face masks protect against facial damage to cheeks, teeth, and ears, as well as providing complete protection for the eyes. Along with protective face wear, the use of a thick sweater or jacket, a balaclava (a cloth head mask), gloves, a hat, hard-soled boots, and knee and elbow pads are also recommended. As a final safety measure, the covering of all exposed skin is also highly advised.

Does a 9 year old need a gun that might require him to wear a full protective face mask and cover all exposed skin?

Some of you might think I am overreacting or being an overprotective mom but this seriously causes me some concern. Does there come a point where we give in and compromise our child's safety to let him have something that "all the other kids" have?

The only positive that I can find in letting him have a gun is that it provides an opportunity to teach gun safety, which will be an important lesson for later in life. The cons as mentioned above are the safety issues.

We are at a standoff now. I am being the bad guy and standing my ground. On the other hand, I feel that my husband with enough pressure from my son, would cave. Until we can come to some common ground on this issue, I will continue to say no to the gun. I love my kids and it is my duty as their mother to protect them from things I find harmful. I wouldn't send them out to play in a busy street and I certainly wouldn't buy something that would put them in any danger.

I'm Dreamin of a White Christmas

2008-12-19T10:19:00.005-05:00

I cannot tell you how long it has been since I have seen snow on Christmas. Actually I can because it is the ONLY time I have seen snow at Christmas. It was 1989, the same year as Hurricane Hugo made landfall on the coast of SC.

In Charleston, we don't get much snow or cold weather (I know there are those that would argue with me about the cold but I am talking cold as in freezing). The average high for December is 61 with the average low being 39. Today's high was supposed to be 77 degrees (but at noon my thermometer read slightly higher at 79). Someone forgot to tell Mother Nature that this is December. You are not supposed to need your car air conditioner in December.

Looking ahead, the forecast for Christmas Day is 65 degrees so I guess the only snow I will see this year is in the neighbor's giant blowup snow globe (and that's a whole other blog entry). It will even be to warm to rent one of those snow blower machines (don't laugh people really do that here).

I am not saying that I want to move to somewhere like this.

I wouldn't even know what to do with that much snow.

Oh but to wake up on Christmas morning and have my yard look like this would be such a wonderful sight (of course my house isn't that nice but you get the picture, right?).

"Fun-due" at the Woods

2008-12-17T10:31:00.005-05:00

Last night for our advent activity we had fondue. I took care of all the preparations before we even sat down for dinner. I made a cheese fondue and a pizza fondue (with hamburger). Our dippers were veggies, bread and pita chips. I also cut up some chicken and steak and stir fried those. We had ranch, ginger teriyaki and barbecue sauce for dipping. For dessert it was yummy chocolate fondue with strawberries, apples and bananas. It was a lot of work but the kids really enjoyed it. We had enough leftovers for another entire meal so next time I will definitely make less.

Dear Santa

2008-12-12T16:37:00.003-05:00

Dear Santa:

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find any more free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple,which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store. I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy. If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools. I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog. If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,

A Grateful Mom

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

(I am not sure who wrote this but it could have been written by any mom)

My Angel

2008-12-10T20:55:00.003-05:00

The boys went with me yesterday to take Haley to get her flu shot. While waiting, Harrison started looking through one of the magazines. He came across a picture of a baby with angel wings and pointed out that the baby was an angel. I said, "Yes, most babies are angels. But then they grow up." Then I said "Well, you are an angel most days, aren't you?" Without missing a beat, Harrison said "Only on Tuesday and Friday."

A Celebration

2008-12-07T21:08:00.004-05:00

Not long ago, Holden came home from church and told us he had asked Jesus to come into his heart and that he wanted to be baptized. This was a big step and we wanted to make sure he was doing this for the right reason so we talked to him about it.

A couple of weeks before the baptism our church videotapes each child answering 6 questions. Three of the questions are pretty basic like your name and age and who would you like to thank. The other three entail more thought like how did you ask Jesus into your heart, why do you want to be baptized and what is your favorite bible verse. Holden was very nervous about this part but the day of the taping he did fine.

Tonight before the baptism, they showed the videotape of all the children who were being baptized. It was touching to hear these children talk about this important decision. Their innocence shines through in their simple, straightforward answers. What it came down to was that these kids loved Jesus.

The baptism took place outdoors (thankfully the pool was heated) with the children all surrounded by their family and friends. Afterwards, we went indoors again to celebrate the most important decision that these children will ever make. As the children's minister said, these children will go on to make many important decisions in their lives but nothing even touches this.

Here is Holden being asked a few questions by

the children's minister before the baptism.

Holden made the children's minister laugh

when he asked "How long are you going to hold me under?"

After being baptized

More Christmas fun

2008-12-05T11:03:00.005-05:00

The advent calendar is a big hit at our house. It has been a good way to make the family slow down and do things together. One of the activities I came up with was indoor s'mores. David thought it would be much more fun to roast them outdoors so he set up the cooker. The kids had a blast roasting their marshmallows even though I was a nervous wreck that they would burn themselves.

It's all about the simple things.

Enjoying the finished product.

On the First Day of Christmas

2008-12-03T07:16:00.003-05:00

I got an advent calendar this year for the first time. I was in search of something with boxes and after seeing some for $30 and up, I stumbled across a much cheaper version at World Market. It's in the shape of a Christmas tree and has a small boxes for each of the days leading up to Christmas. So I removed the piece of chocolate from each box and insertd a slip of paper with an activity on it.

On Day 1, the activity was for the kids to write their letter to Santa. Since Harrison is still young, he dictated and I wrote. He didn't want any opening to his letter, he just got straight to the point. Here are some of his wishes:

a robot like Holden's
a bike with skeletons and pegs on the wheels
Bakugans
skateboard
remote control car

He wanted much more so I suggested that we tell Santa he would like surprises and would be happy with whatever he was brought. Daddy said that Santa would be able to tell that was a mom suggestion as Harrison would never actually come out and say something like that.

Holden wished Santa a good Christmas and asked for:

a Nintendo DS and some games for it
Bakugans
Lego's
Wii games and extra Wii remote

Our little attorney also tried to negotiate with Santa by saying if he didn't get a Nintendo, he'd like a new bike. Holden also added a P.S. to his letter asking Santa to give him a call.

Haley said that she had been good this year and would like:

a new Ipod
curling iron
Nintendo DS games
Wii games

She also asked for world peace and no offshore drilling but said she understood if Santa couldn't produce those things. And being the kind child she is, she said to tell the elves, reindeer and Mrs. Claus hello.

Just a little fraction

2008-12-01T18:34:00.000-05:00

Boys love the excitement of fast cars and motorcycle stunts and there is no shortage of video clips for either on You Tube. The other day, Holden and Harrison were watching a video clip of a guy riding his motorcycle. The guy ran into something and flipped off his motorcycle. Harrison gasped and said "I think that guy is dead." Holden replied "No, I think he just got a fraction."

Thankful Day 6 and 7

2008-11-26T09:52:00.006-05:00

Today I am doubling up on my thankful list since I will be leaving shortly to go out of town for Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for my freedom and those who serve and those who have given their lives to preserve this freedom.

Last, I am thankful for my faith which carries me through each day. I know that ultimately God is in charge and he will be with me every step of the way. Having faith that God is in control helps me through all of the ups and downs in life. For that I am extremely thankful. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours and may you remember not only today but all year long what you are truly thankful for.

Thankful Day 5

2008-11-25T16:18:00.004-05:00

Many years ago my husband gave me one of the best Christmas presents ever. My first pair of Dansko clogs. Since that first pair of black clogs, I have added a brown pair, a red pair and a blue pair. I live in these from September to April and only retire them for flip flops during the summer. So today I am thankful for my good old comfy Dansko's.

Thankful Day 4

2008-11-24T15:27:00.003-05:00

Target is perhaps one of my favorite places so it is befitting that today I choose it to list as what I am thankful for. Where else can you go to get just paper towels and spend $50.00 (okay maybe I shouldn't be so thankful for that)? I love walking by the end caps where they keep all of the clearance deals. And the dollar section at the front of the store has some great stuff! Not to mention that they have some great home decor items for a fraction of what you'd pay at a department store. Yes, I love Target and am very thankful that I have one less than 10 minutes from my house. What did I ever do without it?

Thankful Day 3

2008-11-23T19:40:00.004-05:00

Especially this time of year, I am thankful for Starbucks. So on cold, windy mornings, when I am out on errands, I treat myself to a Skinny Caramel Latte. Mmmm, I wish I had one now.

Thankful Day 2

2008-11-22T19:46:00.002-05:00

My day two picture takes me to one of the many bookshelves in my house. There I find many, many books. I am thankful for them. Books take me to places I might never go. They challenge me to see things I might have never seen. I open them and find joy, comfort and hope in their words.

Day One Thankful

2008-11-21T17:59:00.004-05:00

Besides the obvious things like friends and family, I am thankful for my dog. He is always glad to see me when I come home, even if I have only been gone for 10 minutes. He never complains that I am in a bad mood and wants to be around me anyway. He "talks" to me and I feel sure he is telling me how much he loves me in his own doggy talk.

High Seas Sullivan Woods

Boykin Spaniel Extraordinaire